


In This Together

by Luminora



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst and Feels, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-10 06:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4381496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luminora/pseuds/Luminora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is no secret that Clara has a happy life. A stable job, supportive friends and even a ticket to all of time and space. What would happen if an uninvited guest in the form of cancer invades her life?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Uninvited Guest

"Well, come on!" The Doctor urgently called out from the hill above. "No use dawdling when a carnivorous plant is chasing you!"

Clara looked up at the small hill. It wasn't impossible, but it was still a very steep climb. "Give me a moment!" She said, bowed forward, catching her breath. Usually she would have no problem climbing it without any hardship, but it was proving to be especially difficult that day. She looked around and saw the walking, zombie like plant, almost at reach. She hysterically screamed as she finally made it up the hill.

"Come on!" The Doctor yanked on her wrist, and Clara was pulled into the TARDIS. They both leaned on the door and slid down onto the floor. Clara looked at the Doctor, and he looked back at her. Momentarily after their eyes met each other, they laughed.

"You were useless out there!" He teasingly provoked her.

"Excuse you! It's not my fault that you have long, skinny grasshopper legs!" She threw back a comment.

"Oooh. Ouch. I'm not the tall one, you're the short one. You're a little lass about yay high." He pointed to the ground. Clara huffed and gave him a punch. He rubbed the impact area. Clara sure did pack a punch.

"You deserved it." She pouted and looked away. Then, a moment later, they started laughing again. Clara honestly enjoyed the banters, and never thought much of it ever since this reincarnation has taken over her life.

Clara yawned. "Right, as much as the jungle planet was an eye-opener, I really need to shower and have some shut-eye. That running has finished me."

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak. Clara quickly blocked his mouth.

"- smart comments will not be appreciated." She glared. The Doctor's eyebrows deflated.

"Good night, Doctor." She gave him a sweet smile and a light kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for the great adventure today."

After a drowsy shower, Clara wore her silky nightgown and floated into a dream about the Doctor as a lanky grasshopper.

"Wakey, wakey." Clara woke to a light obnoxiously flickering in front of her. It was the Doctor flickering a small lamp in front of her face. She sleepily batted the lamp away and dug herself into the pillow. "Clara, wake up! You've had plenty of sleep. I'm bored." He poked her nose until she had to wake up.

"Jeez, Doctor. You're so annoying." She sat on the bed, still half asleep. "How long was I asleep?"

"43 hours." He said, gazing at the TARDIS clock.

"What?" She looked at the clock in shock as well. "Well, I must have been really tired. Because honestly, I could go back for more." She yawned as she laid down again. The good thing about sleeping in a time machine was that time did not matter. She could sleep as much as she wanted to and still be early for work.

"No, no more sleep. I'm sick of being alone in the console room." He whinged. "I'm getting tired of listening to myself talk."

"Just… five more minutes?" Clara smiled with her eyes closed.

"Fine." He crossed his arms and trudged out. "I am going to be back in exactly five more minutes, h-okay?" Clara smiled.  _Ah, Time Lords and their control-freak sense of time._

The next time he was in her room (which felt like two seconds after the last time he woke her up), he brought an ineffably loud air horn.

Clara rolled off the bed and banged her nose on the corner of the bedside table.

"Clara, are you okay?" He quickly checked her face. And then straightened himself. "Well… you deserved it for sleeping so much." He quickly tried to hide his sensitive side, but it was too late. Clara had seen it already.

Clara chuckled. The Doctor was adorable when he was trying to be all defensive. Blood started trickling out of her nose. His face paled.

"Aah! Blood!" The Doctor ran out of the room.

Clara sighed as she pinched her nose. She was looking for a box of tissues when the Doctor came back. He was holding a tower of boxed tissues.

"Is this… enough?" He dumped it on her.

"More than. Thanks." She quickly wiped the blood and held the tissue by her nose.

"I have an infirmary aboard the TARDIS. We can-"

"No. The last time you did that, you gave me a cold medicine for a bruise." She glared at him. She paused and continued. "Doctor, I might go home." She sighed. "Come back tomorrow or somethin'. Yeah?"

The Doctor pouted. "Fine." He landed the TARDIS and walked her from her TARDIS room to her flat.

"See you soon." He closed the TARDIS door and dematerialised.

The Doctor pranced around the TARDIS and landed on her flat six hours later. He opened the door to a Clara sitting on her sofa watching TV. She still had a tissue on her nose. The Doctor checked the time. He was sure that he got the time right.

"Still bleeding?" He asked. Clara looked slightly pale, but nothing of concern.

Clara jumped. She obviously did not see or hear the Doctor arriving at all. "Oh, hi! No. It's just about finished."

"Is this the same one from six hours ago?" He pointed his screwdriver at her nose. Clara lowered it again to stop him from scanning her.

"No, I banged it on the wall again." Clara gave a nervous chuckle. She was lying – the Doctor was right. It was the same one from six hours ago, and it frightened her. But there was no way she was going to worry the Doctor about it.

"So clumsy." He tutted. Clara sighed inwardly as he swallowed that lie.

"Not as much as the bowtie you." She gave a snarky comment.

The Doctor tried to say something, and instead just pouted. "Oh, shut up." He embarrassingly looked away. "Shall I come another day?"

"Yeah, that might be the best." Clara nodded. "See you later."

The Doctor took off again and arrived a week after. "Are you up for travelling now?" The Doctor burst out.

"I think I have the flu, but it's in the early stages. Just a bit of fever and stiff joints. I think I'm fine for an adventure. Although, do try to pick a peaceful destination. I'm not at 100 percent." Clara said, following inside.

"Fine." He patted the console. "Got that, TARDIS?" He looked up at the time rotor.

The TARDIS was in flight and landed with a thud. The Doctor peeked outside and smiled.

"Wonderful choice, TARDIS! Clara, bring some wine and cheese. We'll have a picnic."

Clara brought a picnic basket prepared by the TARDIS and walked outside. She didn't forget to thank the TARDIS for being so nice to her (for once).

The metallic purple grass swayed gently in the cool breeze and the silvery moon on the indigo sky was slowly rising. The Doctor had already placed a picnic rug on a spot.

"Wow." She opened her mouth in wonder. "This is beautiful."

"The planet of Gatapia. Famous for its gigantic silver moon and the soft purple grass." He pulled some out from the ground and let it go in the breeze. "Oh, and fireflies of various colours."

As if that was the cue, the fireflies lit up the surrounding grass like Christmas lights. Clara laid down and looked at the sky. The Doctor laid beside her for a bit, and reached for the wine glasses in the basket. Clara breathed the crisp air and observed the sky above her. The Doctor poured two glasses of sparkling wine and handed one to her. "Salut!" They clinked the glass. She drank it and felt her stomach knot.

"Are you sure this is wine?" She winced in pain. But as soon as she felt it, it was gone. The wine itself tasted very nice, but it was unsettling her stomach.

"Yeah, sparkling. I got it from –"

The Doctor rambled on about an adventure with a French aristocrat in the 1700s. Clara frowned at the glass, then continued to drink it despite the discomfort.

When they returned back to the TARDIS, the Doctor pranced along. "So, where to next?"

Clara leaned on the wall rubbing her head. "Home, I think." Her fever was getting worse, and same with the nagging pain in her back.

"Are you okay?" The Doctor stopped and slowly approached her.

Clara nodded. "Just a flu. I told you before. I wasn't 100 percent. I'll be okay."

The Doctor held the screwdriver and Clara batted it out again. "I told you, I am fine. Just need rest. At home."

The Doctor dropped her home and Clara waved as the TARDIS dematerialised. As soon as the Doctor was gone, she stumbled onto the sofa. She took off her boots and found red rashes on her ankle. When she took off her clothes to have a shower, she noticed more rashes and strange bumps around her body. Her eyes inflated in shock.

* * *

The Doctor stood in front of the telephone and debated whether to call Clara. He wasn't sure how long she was going to be sick for, and he was already bored with going on adventures with himself. But he learnt from Clara that it was rude to nag a human being to travel with him. He held the receiver momentarily and hovered his hand over the 'call Clara' button. Then, he placed it down and sat on his sofa.

He sighed. He was going to wait until she called him.

Clara was sitting at her GP waiting room after an intense talk with her doctor. She sighed as she looked at the referral paper. She held the phone and hovered her finger above the Doctor's number. Then, she turned the phone off, and frustratingly ran her hands through her face.

She sighed. She was going to wait until he called her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Hello! Nice to meet you! Call me Lumi. I've recently had to acquaint myself with the process of the treatment of cancer, so I thought, maybe a fanfic would be great way to express it? (Cliched and overused story line I know, I know. I will try not to bore you.) Let me know what you think. :)
> 
> Special thanks to TheBigCat for editing :D


	2. Anything for My Best Friend

"We're not very sure yet… the readings are inconclusive… we need to run more tests…" Clara closed her eyes and replayed the horrifying appointment back in her head. For the past few days, Clara heard nothing from the Doctor, nor the results from the biopsies. He was gone when she needed him the most. But at the same time, she didn't want him to know about this ordeal, because she didn't want him to worry about her. Her doctors didn't give her a straight answer when asked because they didn't want to jump into hasty conclusions. The results from the biopsies were painstakingly slow, and she was just in a gridlock between school, home and hospital.

However, Clara's life went on outside waiting for results. Clara still went to Coal Hill to teach, and still waited patiently for the Doctor to come take her for adventures. She decided not to call him though, just in case he might think she was needy. She knew that he would come in his own time. Ever since the appointment with her GP, Clara decided to walk from home to school every day to stay active.

Clara was walking back home as always one cloudy day. Halfway to her flat, it started raining. She ran to the closest shelter, and opened her bag to look for an umbrella. That was when an umbrella was proffered to her.

"Need this?" she first looked at the red umbrella, then looked up. It was the Doctor! Clara brightened and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Doctor. I've missed you so, so much!"

The Doctor was squirming inside her hug. "I've only gone for a fortnight from your point of view… or have I overshot?"

Clara let go, remembering that he disliked hugs. "No, I just had a rough two weeks," then she paused. "Hang on, isn't this my umbrella?" she snatched it out of his hand.

"Yeah, you forgot to take it back after our haunted house/ Romeo and Juliet zombie creature adventure," he reminisced. 'Oh, back when I wore that ridiculous bowtie. That was a mistake,' he thought bitterly.

"That was a very long time ago. I thought I lost that umbrella. Why didn't you tell me?" she frowned.

"Well, you didn't ask," he shrugged. Clara gave him a playful scowl.

"Do you want a lift?" the Doctor led her to the TARDIS, holding the umbrella for her.

"The TARDIS!" she ran around the console. "I missed you!" she hugged the central column.

"Clara, are you okay? You don't seem like… you today. You're all full of love and… humany," the Doctor generally pointed at Clara.

"Excuse you! Was I not full of love and humany before? In case you haven't noticed, I am after all, human," Clara placed her arms on her hips. 'Oops, shouldn't have done that,' she thought as she accidentally touched a rash. It started itching again.

The TARDIS landed with a small thud. "Well, we've arrived at your flat now," he said with no particular interest. "Bye," he opened the door with a snap. Inside his mind, the Doctor was dying for Clara to stay.

Clara snapped the door shut. She pressed random buttons and pulled the lever. There was a nasty beeping sound, and the Doctor quickly corrected it. Clara gave him an 'oops' face. "Can we go on an adventure?" she timidly asked with her eyebrow raised.

"I thought you'd never ask," he pressed the correct sequence of buttons and let Clara pull the lever to set the TARDIS off in motion.

The Doctor excitedly waddled to the door and opened it with a huge smile. Clara's eyes inflated with fear when she saw what was outside. She shook her head. "I don't feel like a beach. Sorry," Clara couldn't risk going to the sun, especially with rashes all over her body. It would be hellish to walk through it without itching her skin off.

The Doctor's face fell. "Sure, boss." 'She loved beaches. Why didn't she like this one?' he tilted his head as he landed on a mountain. Clara shook her head again.

"No, not a mountain day either. I'm so sorry for being picky," she imagined trying to hike up a mountain. Halfway, she would probably collapse from being out of breath. She sighed, then a good idea popped into her head.

"What about…. A theme park? Y'know, fun, but safe - ish," she suggested, adding the '–ish' at the end, remembering the Cybermen incident with Angie and Artie.

"Good idea, Miss Oswald. Theme park it is," he pressed another set of buttons and they arrived. The Doctor clicked his finger and the door opened to a space theme park. Clara smiled with her mouth wide open and ran out like an excited child. Before the Doctor left, he discreetly soniced the TARDIS with a concerned frown.

The Doctor and Clara shared rollercoaster rides, food and even won prizes from game stalls (what Clara didn't realise was that the Doctor rigged the games before he let her play it). They even saved a Konling, a small bluish creature, stuck in one of the rides.

Clara and the Doctor was on a paddle boat when Clara heard her phone ring. Her heart stopped when she saw the caller. Her smile quickly disappeared.

"Doctor, I'm so sorry, I have to get this call. It's quite important," Clara said with a frown. The shore was still quite far away. She needed to call them back privately, somewhere without the Doctor. Clara pointed to the shore. "Can we quickly paddle to the shore?" he shrugged and started paddling, but it was spinning around in the same place.

"Clara, you have to paddle as well. It's a two-person boat," the Doctor reminded her. He looked at her with a concerned frown: 'Clara's out of breath again.' He saw her struggling to paddle.

"Sorry. It must have been a long day. My legs are very tired. I mean, besides, you have longer legs – they don't have to move as much as mine," she nervously smiled. She hoped that that was enough for the Doctor to stop asking questions.

The Doctor gave a quick suspicious glance and took his sonic out. He aimed it at the paddleboat and started paddling.

"I locked the paddle so I can turn both of them," he explained. "So don't touch the paddle. You'll get your little legs stuck in them." Before they knew it, they had reached the shore.

"Thanks, Doctor. I'll come back in five, okay?" she quickly left, redialling the number that just called. She reached a relatively quiet alleyway, making sure that the Doctor was in her sight, but she wasn't in his.

"Ah, hello. I'm calling back for the biopsy results… I just missed your call a few minutes ago. My name is Clara Oswald," She leaned on a brick wall, covering one side of the ear to hear the call better.

"Clara, your line is very bad. Is there a way to see you in person sometime soon?" Clara's doctor suggested.

"I, uh… am travelling right now. I can't really come back. Can you just tell me the results through the phone?" In a way that was true. Clara was travelling, so she couldn't come back. She could, but she just wanted to hear the results already. She had waited long enough.

"Clara..." there was a long silence. "I'm so sorry, you better cancel the rest of your travelling plans. The biopsy results came back positive. You're at stage IV of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It's a cancer in your blood system. We need to get you started in chemotherapy straightaway. There's-"

Clara dropped her phone in shock. She crouched down next to the brick wall and sobbed for a few minutes. She looked up, realising that the Doctor was still waiting for her in the distance. Thankfully he hadn't seen her breaking down. She wiped her tears and gathered herself together. If she was going to soldier on, she could not cry. She shouldn't be afraid of cancer, and that was how she was going to beat it, with bravery.

When Clara had calmed down, she took big breaths and walked back to the Doctor, who was munching on some fairy floss.

"Took you a while," he said nonchalantly as he dragged her to an empty park. "Come on. The fireworks are about to start. Fairy floss?" he offered and Clara refused.

She laid on a picnic rug set by the Doctor and held his hand tightly. The fireworks were wonderful, and it helped her forget about what was to come. She rolled over closer to the Doctor, still fixed on the beautiful, picturesque show of burning metals.

"Thank you for today, Doctor," She rested her head on his chest. "It was truly wonderful."

"You say that all the time Clara," he chuckled with his deep resounding voice. "But you're welcome. Anything for my best friend."

Clara laid there thinking about what he'd said.

_Anything for my best friend._

* * *

When the Doctor dropped her off back at her flat, the nightmare of reality started again. She'd told no one about her cancer, seeing as she wasn't close to her family (Linda would actually be glad to get rid of her) and didn't want to burden her friends. Clara didn't even tell the school of her situation, just warned them that she might be in and out of school for 'family emergencies'.

Clara glanced at the list of tests and scans she had to complete before starting the therapy. She wanted to run away from it, hide from it until it disappeared, but the symptoms were getting worse. She was so out of breath that sometimes, she couldn't even walk up the small stairs in front of the school. That got her some snarky comments from students.

Three scans were booked in the space of few weeks. The first was the PET scan. There were some needles involved but not as scary as she thought.

The second was CT. The whole day, Clara was more than grumpy that she couldn't eat or drink anything except the vile liquid they provided her. It said 'lemon flavoured' but in reality, it tasted like chalk and hell mixed together smelling like detergent. It looked like a gloop of white paint, only thicker and with a terrible texture. She was grumpier finding out that she had to drink not one, but two bottles during the timeframe, giving her an upset stomach and an aftertaste that did not disappear for the rest of the week.

The final one was a bone marrow biopsy. She'd heard from the survivors that this was the worst out of everything they did. So when she turned up to the appointment alone, the nurse looked at her in surprise.

"No one here to support you?" Clara shook her head. She was not in the mood for talking. She was more than terrified from the experiences she'd heard about this biopsy. The nurse compassionately squeezed Clara's hand. "Don't worry. I'll be here for you. Okay?"

Everything was okay for Clara. She was in control. The doctor came in and explained the procedure, and she laid there until the general anaesthetic started working on the area. Then she saw the big needle. She was definitely not in control. Everything was not okay.

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm not ready," she took some deep breath, trying to calm herself down. The doctor waited patiently. This was not the first time he'd seen a patient react like this. Clara looked at him determinedly and gave him a shaky nod. She didn't really feel the needle enter the fleshy part of her back. But when it reached the bone, it was a different story. Tears of pain silently flowed down. She clutched onto the pillow in complete misery. Her doctor stopped momentarily so that she could catch her breath back.

Then, she heard the voice.

"Is this the room? Thanks," it was from outside the door. There was a pattern of rhythmic knocks. And she heard the door open. She couldn't turn around to see who it was as there was a gigantic needle stuck midway on her spine, but she didn't care about the identity of the person anyway, as the overwhelming pain was the most important thing to worry about. She dug into the pillow, crying. There was a murmur of voices with her nurse and some other voice, but nothing but pain registered when the needle started digging deeper into her bone.

"Hey. Clara," Clara opened her tear filled eyes. She gasped, half in pain, and half in recognition. The Doctor crouched down to her eye level and held her hand, which Clara couldn't help but grip tightly due to the pain. But the Doctor looked at her with a sympathetic gaze. "I'm always here for you," he gently wiped her tears. "Whenever you need me."

After the agonising session of bone marrow extraction was over, Clara had to lay down for 30 mins on the bed, with the Doctor applying pressure on the wound it had created. Clara was slowly recovering from the traumatic biopsy she had ever experienced.

"Doctor," Clara faintly called out.

"Yeah?" He leaned closer the Clara.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Well, a friend of mine. She enjoyed travelling and never could get enough of it. She was a complete adrenaline junkie." The Doctor looked at her, and Clara let out a small laugh.

"One day, she started acting strange. She even started turning down travelling, the one thing she loved more than anything in the world." He gently held her hand. "I started worrying, because my best friend wasn't acting like herself. So I set up a discreet scanner in the TARDIS, and it told me that she was in a lot of pain and needed someone to support her. So here I am."

"Well, Doctor. Your friend is very lucky have a friend like you," Clara gave a small kiss on the Doctor's hand.

Later, the Doctor helped her up and helped her recover back in her flat. Clara laid in bed for the rest of the day, and the Doctor did all the housework.

"You never do domestic," Clara giggled on the bed, feeling much better after a dose of painkillers.

"Well, I'm learning, aren't I?" he shrugged as he placed Clara's apron on him and started vacuuming the floor.

"You look absolutely ridiculous," she laughed at him. The Doctor gave her a small jig and continued vacuuming. After all the housework was done, the Doctor sat by her bed.

"It's okay, you can come into the bed," Clara said sleepily. "You're fully clothed anyway. Don't worry, I don't mind," she dismissed the worried look in his eyes. The Doctor awkwardly laid next to her.

"Doctor, thank you for being my best, kindest, the most compassionate friend," She hugged him as she fell asleep.


	3. Life Goes On

"You. Where do you think you're going?" Clara turned around in frustration as she held one of her boots in her hand. ' _Damn, the Doctor woke up.'_  She was so close to leaving.

"School?" She glanced at the clock as she shrugged. "I'm up extra early to compensate for my slow pace."

"No." He dragged her away from the door. "You're staying. You're not well. Clara, this is not a race to see how long you can last in that hell-"

"Stop right there before I get more offended and decide to slap you." She silenced him. "Doctor, I don't want to be treated like a cancer patient. Yes, it has turned my world upside down, but I still want to do normal stuff. I probably won't be able to do what I'm doing right now when I start chemo, so I want to continue doing it until I really can't do it. I'll promise I'll stop if it's starting to become unbearable."

The Doctor placed his hand on his chin, submerged in deep thought – trying to devise a plan to not let her go. It was largely not for Clara's sake, but his – as the thought of having Clara out of sight frightened him. Then, he inwardly smiled thinking of the perfect plan.

Clara crossed her arms. "Besides, you're not my dad. You can't tell me what to do."

"But I  _could_  tell Dave. I mean, knowing you, you haven't told him anything. I am right, aren't I?" He crossed his arms to mirror her.

"Ooh, blackmailing now, are we?" Clara raised her eyebrows.  _But if dad does find out, it would be catastrophic._  She cleared her throat. "Please, just let me go to work." She changed her tone, pleading with her puppy dog eyes.

The Doctor gave in. Those eyes were irresistible. "Fine. But if you are feeling even remotely sick, you're coming straight home. Okay? Also, I'm not risking you going to school by yourself. Come on, in the TARDIS," he clicked his finger and the doors opened by themselves.

"Okay,  _DAD,_ " she rolled her eyes and sarcastically added as she jumped into the TARDIS.

When Clara jumped out (the Doctor's permanent parking spot in the school now was the caretaker's office) he embarrassingly waved from the TARDIS. "Have fun at school!" Clara rolled her eyes again. She knew he was doing that intentionally, probably to put her off from going to work. But to hell with it if she was going to fall for his plan.

Clara was teaching when she received the reminder text. 'Reminder: your first chemotherapy is scheduled for tomorrow.' Her heart froze in fear. She took silent deep breaths in and out.

"Miss, you alright?" a student asked with a concerned look, seeing her pale face.

"Yep, I'm fine. Sorry, I was getting off track. Anyone need help?" she cleared her throat and gave them a fake smile.

When the bell rang for lunch, Clara caught Ian, the headmaster, who was just about to leave his office.

"Oh, Ian! Sorry, to interrupt you, but I need to speak to you about something," Clara said, breathlessly.

"Clara! I've been meaning to speak to you too!" Ian dropped his bag and offered her to sit down. "I just got a message from an old friend of mine," he smiled. "You've come to ask for some time off, right?" Clara opened her mouth to speak, but Ian went on anyway. "-I understand. I used to have trouble as well. You know, with teaching and all. Well, I was technically kidnapped by him, but that was his way of showing affection back then," he laughed.

Clara stood up from her seat, "W-what did the Doctor tell you?" 'Well, there goes your secret about being the Doctor's companion,' her inner voice chastised her.

Clara was shattered that the Doctor had contacted Ian. She knew that he used to travel with him a very long time ago, and that was the reason she got the job at the school. But that didn't excuse him from blabbing her secrets to others.

"That you need some time off because you're travelling with him," he said, plainly, with a shrug of the shoulder.

Clara's eyes grew large fear. She still wanted to come to school to teach. She couldn't lose her normal life just like that. "Ah, uh… well, not really. I mean-"

"Well, take as much time off as you want." He gave her a sincere smile.

"I'm sorry?" Clara's eyes widened as she gazed into his kind, old eyes. That was definitely not the response nor the reaction she was expecting from him.

"You will always be welcomed back to school when you want to come back. I don't mind at all. I understand that travelling with the Doctor is the greatest thing ever and when he leaves, you'll start missing the golden days." He nodded. "Tell him I said hi, and most of all, have fun."

Clara sat there stunned. Ian was said to be one of the best headmasters in the country, and she now understood why. He was hard-working and a kind, not to mention compassionate.

"Thank you, Ian. Thank you for understanding." Clara firmly shook his hand, so touched by what he'd told her. Ian turned the handshake to a gentle hug.

"You be careful out there. Not that you're not. And take care of the Doctor. He may seem strong, but inside, he's the complete opposite," Clara could see Ian was speaking from experience.

When school was over, Clara took a bundle of students' work and headed to the caretaker's office again. There, she saw the Doctor talking to Atif.

"- at least you had fun in the dream. No need to be angry with me! I only replaced you for a week. I didn't do anything wron- Ah, Clara!" both Atif and the Doctor turned around to see Clara in a bemused state. Her eyes darted from Atif to the Doctor, asking for an explanation from both of them.

"You look beautiful today, Clara." Atif seemed to have forgotten that the Doctor was there. The Doctor looked at him with disgust and annoyance.

' _Ah. Atif is such a flirt_.' She thought with a smirk. As she was just about to reply, the Doctor grabbed her hand.

"Okay, we're leaving." The Doctor quickly opened the TARDIS, pulled Clara in, and dematerialised.

Clara giggled. "You really can't stand someone flirting, can't you? Oh, come here, you adorable-" She hugged him as tight as she can, and again, he squirmed inside her grasp. In the end, he gave up and hugged back. "Thank you by the way, for the talk you've had with Ian," Clara added.

"Did I?" He scoured his memory for an Ian. "Oh! Your headmaster! Oh yes, lovely man. I didn't talk to him. I sent him a letter. I can't do follow ups. Too much of a hassle." He shrugged. That was obviously a lie to make him look 'cooler' in front of Clara – he kept tabs on every companion he's had. There was a room for each of them and their life's journey.

"Pfft. Are you going to stop visiting completely when you stop travelling with me as well?" Clara obviously had meant it as a joke. For the Doctor, however, it became apparent that the 'cool' lie had gone horribly wrong. The Doctor denied his statement.

"No, no. Never. I mean, I will always keep tabs on you, until the end."

"What, until I die of cancer?" Clara had no intention of that statement slipping out of her mouth. The Doctor didn't speak, only sadness filled his eyes. "I- I didn't mean… Oh my stars, I'm so sorry, Doctor. I don't know where that came from." She covered her mouth in embarrassment and guilt.

There was a terrible silence in the TARDIS that Clara was obliged to break.

She cleared her throat. "So, anyway…. what happened back there? Why was Atif so angry?" Clara changed topic, hoping he would catch on.

"Oh, nothing. He was angry that I hypnotised him ages ago. He told me that he missed his relative's funeral or whatever." The Doctor scoffed. "Funerals are stupid. He should be grateful that I made him miss that idiotic thing."

"Well, for many people, that is when they say their final good byes. It's an important day for tying knots, Doctor." Clara informed him. "No wonder Atif was so mad at you." As Clara glanced over, she saw Doctor's bandaged knuckles.

"Doctor, where did you get those from?" she pointed. "Did you wrestle some Daleks or punch Zygons or something?" She snickered.

"Oh, these? They're nothing." He quickly hid his hands behind the back. "Anyway, back to your house for you. You have a big day tomorrow," he ushered her off to bed.

Clara had completely forgotten about what was going to happen tomorrow. Her smile disappeared. She was scared for what was coming, but more scared of the small bumps that had noticeably grown larger. Then, one question popped into her mind.

_If the Doctor has the TARDIS, couldn't he just cure her with the medicine from the future?_

The thought dispersed as she fell asleep.

* * *

_A few hours earlier_

While Clara was teaching, the Doctor was busy running full scans on Clara. 'Stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma, blood platelet level: low, life expectancy…' He quickly turned it off. There were pictures of cancerous cells inside Clara's body, especially concentrated near her neck. Then, he ran every simulation possible on what could go wrong. The first…. The second… the third…. His eyes widened as he continued the simulation. Mouth wide open, he stumbled backwards and shook his head.

"No." He ran his hand through his hair. "No, you can't!" he punched the monitor in an outburst of rage, and the impact had smashed the screen. He breathed harshly in supressed anger as blood trickled down from his knuckles. The results of the scan had printed on a long sheet of paper underneath the console. The Doctor slowly took it out.

'Likelihood of progression to terminal cancer: 99.8%'

The Doctor angrily crumpled the results and threw it against the TARDIS wall. He punched the console over and over until he broke down on the spot. He had to save her, in any cost.

The TARDIS landed and the Doctor paused in front of the open door. He grimly looked at a small cottage lit with a gentle flame in the middle of a forest. She was the only hope he had.

"I will offer you whatever you want in exchange for your help to save my friend." The Doctor was actually kneeling on the ground begging the woman. "I- I need a cure. She's died for me so many times and I could never repay her. She's going to die and there's no way to help her." Silent tears broke out.

"I-I'm sorry, Doctor. You know how difficult it is to treat a cancer this bad. Let alone a human from the 21st century. We can't just administer any old cure to a patient – humans have evolved, Doctor. There's no need for cold medicine or HIV cure anymore. My cure worked not because of me, but because of evolution. Your friend doesn't have the capacity to-"

"Just try. Try with your best shot." The Doctor pleaded.

The woman pondered deeply on the spot. "Thinking of the treatment of her time, I might have a thing for her. It's not a definite cure, and it will assist in her healing process." The woman showed him the vial of chemical. The Doctor stared at the woman in shock.

"This is cruel," he shook his head in dismay. "This could kill her. Are you sure that's the only chemical you think will work?" He sighed and ran his hand over his face.

She nodded. "A possibility of a cure. I can't tell you if it will actually work or not. It's this or nothing."

He held it at eye level. He determinedly nodded.

"I'll take it."


	4. The Darkness

The Doctor sat beside Clara’s bed and watched her sleep. He did not dare to touch her in the fear of waking her. The Doctor knew her symptoms of cancer was getting worse – she was becoming paler and slimmer every day. She was even frowning from her headaches as she slept. He knew she was in a lot of pain, but did a very good job trying to hide it from him. He would never had known if it wasn’t for the regular check-ups he had set the TARDIS to do whenever she was on board. He didn’t tell Clara that he knew about the symptoms and that there was no use hiding it from him, because he wanted to wait until she was ready to tell him about it.

The Doctor glanced over at the bedside table, invaded by pill bottles of all sorts. The pill bottles were shaped and coloured differently, neatly organised from smallest to biggest cases. He smiled, ‘Clara’s control-freak tendencies are still evident,’ he thought as he turned all the labels to face the same way. He momentarily paused on a purple pill bottle, and slowly took out the vial from his inside pocket. He glared at it in a mixed feeling of desperation and hopefulness.

‘You don’t need to do this. She’s going to be in more pain than she is now, it might kill her,’ his pessimistic mind nagged him. The Doctor sighed, and placed it back in his pocket. ‘But it will save her, I know it will,’ his optimistic voice reassured him.

The Doctor kept thinking of the probable aftermath of the treatment. The possibility of death continued to plague his mind. The uncontrollable anger at himself for not being more observant brewed inside his mind.

The Doctor stood up. He needed air. He was initially planning to wait for her to wake up. However, he realised he was in a conflicted, emotional mess, the side he preferred not to show Clara. He quickly scribbled a note and dematerialised in his TARDIS.

 

Clara woke up when she heard the TARDIS leave. She looked at the alarm clock and the note that said ‘back in a moment – call me if you need me’. That was okay. She was fine without him… at least for now. She understood that the Doctor would have needed some air at some point, and was surprised and grateful that he could be so patient until now. She wanted some time off him as well, to prepare herself for what’s to come. Knowing him, she knew he was going to come back, and if she really needed him, she could just call the TARDIS like he said on the note.

She went to the bathroom and stared at her hair. A long, last look before she lost them all. She was completely terrified. That was the part that worried her the most. Having to lose everything that defined her- her hair, her eyebrows and maybe (she hoped not) her nails.

By the time she was ready, the Doctor returned, smelling like flowers.

“Where have you been? Why do you smell like a botanic garden?” Clara smirked, leaning on the TARDIS and crossing her arms.

The Doctor smelt his jumper and gave Clara a horrified look. “Sorry. I thought it wasn’t that bad. A flowering tree sneezed on me.” He replied as he took his jacket off. “I’ll get changed.” He was worried because it seemed like Clara was bothered by the smell. In honesty, he had been looking for a particular fruit for Clara in the forest of Cheem, the planet inhabited by the tree people. He had no idea that the tree he picked the fruit from was one of the inhabitants, and allergic to Time Lords’ touch. The tree had sneezed pollen all over him, making him smell like flowers. He heard an earful from the tree, and had to fulfil some favours (something about planting his young on sacred grounds) before being able to return back to Clara’s flat. He wasn’t even allowed to take the fruit – something about kidnapping his first born (which was ridiculous in his opinion).

Clara laughed. “Don’t worry about it. It smells nice. Leave it on,” she said as she skipped inside the TARDIS.

The Doctor sighed in relief. He punched in the coordinates of the hospital and waited for her to give him the ‘all okay’. “We can go whenever you’re ready,” he told her, with a kind, gentle look.

Clara shook her head. “No, I’m not ready.” She placed her hand affectionately on the TARDIS and turned around. “This is a time machine. Can we go on an adventure for the last time? Our last hurrah?”

The Doctor shook his head. Her cancer was spreading far too quickly for them to take a detour. He had to convince her to go. “Clara, you can’t run from this.” He reminded her. “Nor is it our last hurrah. We can travel whenever we want to.” He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “The reason for chemo is because they want to stop the cancer cells. The later you leave it, the worse-”

“I know!” she angrily interrupted as she shook his hands off her shoulder. The Doctor jolted and Clara felt a guilty pang. “I know,” she said with more sadness and weight. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be angry. I don’t know what took over me,” she looked at the floor as she spoke. Clara was devastated. The Doctor had been nothing but nice for the past few days. But all she had done was to return hateful and nasty comments. She did not deserve a friend like him. ‘I’m a monster,’ she thought as she ran into her room in the TARDIS.

The Doctor knew the mood swings weren’t caused by her temper, but the hormones from all the medication she was forced to take. Just before approaching Clara’s locked bedroom door, it automatically opened for him. He silently thanked the TARDIS knowing that it was her who knew how much Clara needed him, and that was presumably why she had unlocked the door for him. Both of his hearts broke seeing her having a breakdown. She was curled up tightly in bed, sobbing silently into the pillow. The Doctor sat down beside her and stroke her hair.

 “Hey, Clara, I know you’re upset because you think you’re being a horrible person. But you’re not. It’s not your fault that you are unhappy and sad,” he gently stroke the scar Clara had acquired from her lymph node biopsy. “You are doing your best in the worst of times. I don’t think you’re being horrible to me. In fact, whenever I see this side of you, it only reminds me how brave you are, being able to manage your life in the past few horrible weeks. To me, you’re a trooper - always finding the time to smile and find happiness.” He smiled, and Clara smiled back with tears.

She silently hugged him and sniffled. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear. The Doctor knew she wanted some time alone to prepare herself, so he left her in her room. Even though his hearts told him to stay with her.

The Doctor was reading a book in the console room when Clara timidly walked out of the corridor, “Okay, I’m ready,” she looked at the Doctor with determination.

 

Clara tightly held onto the Doctor’s hand as she entered the hospital. They sat down in the waiting room, where Clara’s blood was drawn for a quick analysis. The Doctor watched the nurse like a hawk. He was not going to let him hurt her in any way.  

“Nervous?” the nurse asked Clara, and the Doctor glared at her.

“Did you really think that that was appropriate?” he growled. The nurse avoided his gaze in fear.

“Doctor, behave.” She playfully slapped him on his arm. “Sorry, he’s a bit of a grump these days,” she said to the nurse. In one hand, the Doctor was glad that Clara was back to the normal, chippy Clara, but on the other hand, he was scared for her. He was going to take no chance on any amateurs like him hurting Clara.

The Doctor scoffed and gruffly looked away, and the nurse silently left after getting a sample of Clara’s blood.

“That was not very nice!” Clara scolded the Doctor when he had left. Clara realised that even though the Doctor was hiding it, deep down, he was equally upset about this whole ordeal.

“Yeah, well, that nurse was inappropriate,” he scowled and crossed his arms. Clara laughed it over. The Doctor was being over-protective about her, as always.

“Clara?” a doctor with a clipboard called her name. The Doctor and Clara’s ears perked up and they stood up. Her oncology doctor signalled them to follow, and they traced his steps anxiously to the infusion suite.

They were led to a hospital bed, with the machine already set up next to it. The nurse who had checked Clara’s blood was sitting there, waiting for her to sit down. Clara was amused when the Doctor and the nurse still avoided each other’s gazes. She gave a small laugh and shook her head in disbelief as she made herself comfortable in the hospital bed.

“Okay, this is going to sting,” the nurse warned Clara.

Clara looked away as the nurse fixed the needles in Clara’s veins. Clara hissed in the momentary pain, and the Doctor agitatedly stood up from the visitor’s chair.

“You’re hurting her!” He angrily shouted as he took out his sonic screwdriver.

“Doctor-” Clara gave a firm warning tone, and the Doctor sat down with a pout. “- behave.” She added, with a slight strain at the end of her voice. Her arm felt like it was on fire. She closed her eyes, holding back the tears.

“You feeling okay?” the nurse asked, and Clara shook her head, controlling her breath.

“Is it supposed to sting?” Clara whispered out. With that sentence, the Doctor quickly whipped out his screwdriver and pointed at the needle.

“Well, of course it stings, because this pudding brain couldn’t even locate your vein properly! See, Clara? I knew there was something off about him ever since I saw him taking your blood.” His voice was so loud, everyone in the room stopped and looked at them. Clara blushed in embarrassment. That was when she realised the nurse was gone.

The nurse came in momentarily after, accompanied by the two security officers. “He’s the guy I’m talking about. Can you please kick him out from the hospital? He’s disrupting everyone.” Clara’s eyes widened in shock.

“W-wait! No, no, no. I’m so sorry he’s acting like this… he’s just a bit sensitive-” The Doctor was about to protest when she covered his mouth. “- this is the first day of my chemo, and I think he’s more upset about it than I am. I’ll make sure it won’t happen again. I need him while I am undergoing chemo, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him,” she explained as she looked at the security officers with pleading eyes.

The security officers gave a grunt. “Just make sure he doesn’t do it again. If I hear one more complaint – he’s out of here.”

“Yes. I will. You got that, Doctor?” She elbowed him.

“I’m sorry,” the Doctor said quietly in a disgruntled voice.

The security guard left them, and the nurse carefully reinserted the needle. This time, she didn’t feel any pain – just warmth from the chemicals. The nurse checked over the needles once again. “Don’t be shy to tell me if anything is wrong-“

The Doctor sarcastically raised his eyebrow, “well, she would be-“

“Doctor!” Clara glared at him once again, and he looked away in annoyance. He muttered something under his breath, but Clara chose to ignore him.

She was given all the medication, and then her first ever chemotherapy started. It felt quite underwhelming, maybe because she was on all sort of drugs like steroids and anti-anxiety medicine. After a while, just sitting there became boring.

One hour… two hours… three… Clara finished the book she had brought to read, eat snacks and even stroll around the hospital garden. For the first few hours, the Doctor refused to leave her side, but after he was assured hundreds of times that Clara was fine by herself, he went for a walk outside without Clara. Clara was slightly nauseous and feeling tired and run down, but other than that, she didn’t have any major problems. She looked at the bags of chemicals. It was three quarters empty. She gave a bored sigh as she tried to re-read her book, _Sense and Sensibility_. Being in the hospital was so boring. That was, until the Doctor came up with two mugs of tea.

“Hello, hello.” He sat down on the visitor’s chair beside the bed. “I brought some tea from Cheem. Finally.” He offered Clara a mug.

“Edible?” she raised her eyebrows.

“Of course,” he replied with a tinge of annoyance. “When did I ever give you something inedible? ....actually, don’t answer that.”

Clara smirked as she watched the Doctor fall into his own trap. “Ta.” She smelt the sweet fruit tea as she accepted the mug. She blew over the steam and drank a few sips. The sweet, aromatic smell filled her sinus.

“Good?” he asked, intently watching.

“Mmhmm.” Clara blinked hard as her eyelids grew heavy. Instantly, Clara fell asleep. The Doctor quickly took the mug from Clara’s hands and caught her head before it landed hard on the pillow. He placed her gently on the bed and looked around to see if any nurses or doctors were watching. He sucked the liquid in the vial into an injector and mixed it with the cocktail of chemotherapy solution hanging on Clara’s drip. He returned to his seat and placed his hands on his chin, watching Clara for any change. The Doctor held his breath as she shuddered momentarily, but he breathed out when she returned back to her peaceful sleep.

 

* * *

 

Clara was dreaming. Deep down, she knew that it was a dream, but it seemed too surreal to question herself. She was a child again, and she was running around in a field, trying to chase her mummy and daddy. She laughed as she hid behind a bush, to scare her unsuspecting dad, who was walking towards her. Suddenly, she felt something unsettling in her arm… spreading to her chest. She kneeled on the dirt and desperately called for her mummy. Nothing came out. A cloud of darkness approached, daring to swallow her. Then, Ellie found her and picked her up from the ground. She hugged her tightly and the clouds of darkness disappeared. She started whispering in Clara’s ear.

“Clara, you have to stop him,” her mother’s voice was so familiar, yet it seemed so unnatural all the same. She was looking at her mum, but it felt like she hadn’t seen her forever. 

Clara curiously looked up. ‘Stop who?’

There was a blinding white light, and then she was back in the grassy field again.

“Well, come on Clara! Catch me if you can!” her dad’s playful voice rang out.

Clara shook her head and ran towards her dad.

 _She’d forgotten all about the darkness_.


	5. An Old Friend

"Right. Home. Finally." The Doctor lifted Clara off her feet. Clara gave a small scream.

"Doctor! What are you doing? Put me down!" Clara laughed, clutching onto his neck tightly.

The Doctor soniced the bedside lamp. "Off to bed, off to bed." He placed her down on the bed and tucked her in, just like a father tucking in a child.

"Doctor, I'm fine. Really, really. I don't feel sick… nor do I feel sleepy. I slept through half of my chemo anyway." Clara batted his arm. The Doctor ignored her and dimmed the lamp.

"Chemotherapy is known to drain energy off even the youngest, energetic humans. And I know that you're neither."

"Hey! I am. Thank you very much." Clara gave a playful scowl, which progressed to a yawn.

"See? Humans. Your brain capacity is hilarious. Need sleep ever so often." He gave a victorious smile.

"Fine. I'll sleep. Good night, Doctor. Thank you for coming to chemo with me today."

"Good night. Sleep well." He replied and quietly closed the door.

* * *

As soon as the Doctor jumped aboard the TARDIS, it automatically went in flight.

"-what?" he grabbed onto the bars tightly, as it shook violently towards its destination. There was an awful crash, and he was flung into the walls of the TARDIS. He landed on one of the round things with a smack.

He rubbed the area of impact and cautiously walked up to the navigation system. He swore under his breath as he found out that the navigation system had been broken. He sighed and peeked outside.

The TARDIS was parked just outside Clara's flat. 'Not bad… Considering.' He pressed Clara's bell, and no one answered. He shrugged, 'probably gone for a walk or something,' he thought as he took his copy of Clara's house key out.

The Doctor was surprised to see her flat in the state– just because he'd never seen her house this messy before. There were books laying around everywhere, used tissue papers, unwashed bowls, and clothes piled on the floor. He sighed. He must have overshot by a few days. He started cleaning up when Clara's mobile on the coffee table started ringing.

"Hello, Clara Oswald's phone, the Doctor speaking," he picked it up.

"Ah, Doctor! I'm just returning your call. I know you told me not to call but I've booked a church –"

"What for? Who is this?" he asked. Why would he need to book a church?

"Doctor, it's George. You know… for the thing." The voice on the other side sounded hesitant.

"What thing? I don't even know who you are. Look, I'm not interested in whatever you're selling." he hung up.

The Doctor continued cleaning up, when Clara's phone buzzed again. This time, it was a text.

'Dear Miss Oswald.' He raised his eyebrows. 'I am so sorry to hear about the sad news. If I can be of any help, please do not hesitate to call me.'

He scoffed. "Nice try," he said to himself as he threw her phone on the couch. Probably just a spam email conning people to buy stuff. He continued tidying up her house – moving books back into her shelf, taking the trash out, washing the dishes, and even making her bed.

Once he finished cleaning, the Doctor looked proudly around Clara's house. It was sparkly clean once again. Clara was still not home, so he decided to go back to his TARDIS and wait for her to come back. Halfway towards reaching the door, he tripped over a diary on the floor. He had missed putting that back in the spot. When he picked it up, his curiosity got the better of him. The first page contained a tuft of brown hair stuck on with sticky tape.

'Good bye hair. See you when I see you. Start of Chemo.' The curly writing scribbled underneath.

He smiled sadly and flicked onto the middle of the diary.

'Half way there! I feel great, considering. My oncology doctor was confident that I was getting better. Saw the Doctor after chemo, and he was nice enough to take me to a new planet. I forgot the name, but there were monkeys with fezzes.' There was a small drawing of a lake and a monkey wearing a fez.

He frowned. "That's not right," he muttered to himself. Clara had only begun her treatment. From the drawing, he could recognise the planet – the planet of Oz. He was planning on taking her there sometime, but never had the time after all these cancer related events came up. He flicked over to the last page. There was only one small sentence that occupied the page and the ink had been smeared and page wrinkled as if it had not been properly dried after a rain.

'I just heard that my cancer is terminal.'

His hair stood up as he dropped the diary in shock. He dived for Clara's phone and checked the date. The TARDIS had landed in his future time stream. He had to go back to the TARDIS before he came across any more foreknowledge. As he ran towards the exit, he saw a small catalogue. A wooden coffin was circled in red, with a receipt attached to it. His hearts stopped, and his stomach turned.

_They were planning her funeral._

He slammed the door, and breathed heavily. He ran to the console room and flung the TARDIS into the time vortex. He sat down, closed his eyes and pressed his temples.

_He had to forget the date. He had to forget about this whole future. Time streams can be rewritten._

He grunted in frustration as he found the memory lodged too deep inside for him to manually wipe it out. Then, he had an idea.

He burst out of the box and found himself in a bar. Not just any bar, but a very specific one with a special someone drinking alone. Despite his situation, a small smile crept up, seeing his old friend again.

He gazed at the watch. He didn't have long, He briskly ordered a pint, and sat next to him.

"Hello, handsome. Captain Jack Harkness. How-" Jack gave a cheesy grin. He didn't know who the Doctor was. Of course – he'd changed his face couple of times since he had last seen him.

"Oh stop it," the Doctor hoped that he would recognise his tone.

Sure enough, Jack's eyes widened. "No!" He gave a hearty laugh. "Really? Doctor, is that you?"

Before the Doctor could protest, Jack hugged him and kissed him excitedly on his face. The Doctor listened as Jack talked through the evening, catching up on things the Doctor had missed. The Doctor sat there listening, and waiting for the best time.

"So, never got to ask. What brings you here?" Jack settled down on his stool and gulped the whole pint in one go. The Doctor waited until Jack placed his empty glass down on the bench.

"I needed someone to talk to. It's good to see you again," the Doctor fiddled with the now-empty pint.

"What about?" Jack raised his eyebrows and leaned in closer.

"My companion is in a bit of a mess right now."

"Ah, you and your girls," Jack winked. "I hope the mess is the kind of mess I am thinking in my head."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. Jack was still full of innuendos as always. "Well, she's undergoing chemo." He said in a grim voice. "And I saw her future. We were planning for her funeral."

"That is morbid." Jack stood up, horrified. The move was rather abrupt and unsteady. "Doctor, I'm so sorry. I had no idea," he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, not your fault," the Doctor looked at the ground in sadness.

"But why?" Jack softly asked after a pause. "Why tell me about it? I know you've been avoiding me. I mean, no offence, but you're not that sort of a person who looks back. You never come… not anymore at least. I know you've been keeping tabs on me, there's always one extra-terrestrial connection link in the Torchwood mainframe. I leave it as is because I know it's the connection from the TARDIS."

"I just needed someone to talk to. I saw dangerous information, Jack. Possible links that could create a fixed point in time. If I don't know about today's incident, it won't be a fixed point anymore… at least I hope it won't be. I needed do erase it from my memory."

Jack finally realised what the Doctor was implying. "Oh. You need retcon." He reached for his pocket, and then tapped all over his pockets. "I would gladly give you some but it seems I have misplaced it somewhere. If you come-" Jack paused.

The Doctor silently held the pill bottle. When Jack had hugged him, he had sneakily taken them out from Jack's pocket. Jack blinked heavily.

"D-doctor!" he fell back on the stool for support as he struggled to stay awake. The Doctor placed Jack's arm around him for support.

"Sorry Jack, thank you for the retcon, I really needed it. I also put some in your pint because I don't want you to remember this meeting, I'm not letting my mistake create a fixed point in Clara's time stream. It was really nice meeting you again. I'll come visit in the near future. I promise." The Doctor took Jack into a cab and dematerialised from the pub.

The Doctor placed a lock on the two past dates he had visited. This way, he was never going to let the TARDIS land on those dates again - preventing himself from revisiting the time stream, opening a wound in space and time. He solemnly sat on the sofa and swallowed the pill. The darkness consumed him.

 

The Doctor woke up feeling refreshed than ever before, as if a load from his chest had been lifted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone, I'm so sorry for not updating. The truth is, I'm struggling right now - I've been really sick for the past few weeks, just on and off. Fingers crossed I don't need to be readmitted into the hospital, and I'll try my best to get another chapter up ASAP. Thanks everyone :)  
> -Lumi-


	6. Not Alone

Clara woke up with a sound from her alarm. She sleepily turned it off and was about to fall asleep again, when her phone started ringing. She tried to ignore it but the ringtone was too nagging. She groaned and picked it up.

"Hello?" she answered croakily.

"Oh Clara! Sorry, did you just wake up? It's Adrian, how are you?"

"Never been better." she covered the phone and coughed twice to test her voice. "What's up?"

"Oh, same old, same old. I was calling to ask you if you could temporarily take over my senior English class for me from this afternoon? I know you're sort of on a holiday, and it's a bit of a short notice, but my mum is sick so I have to go and see if she's okay. Just for a week or two, no longer. I just ought to ask you first before I ask anyone else since you know most of my students from drama club anyway."

Clara paused, and started debating with herself. Should she? She'd just started chemotherapy and she didn't know how capable she was going back to teach. But it was Adrian's class and they were famous for being well behaved… better than other classes anyway. She was also feeling useless at home and felt completely fine after her first chemo, as none of the side effects had emerged.

She peeked outside the room and saw no TARDIS in the Doctor's usual parking space. The Doctor had left, which means he wasn't there to protest. "Y-yeah, sure. I would be happy to," Clara added hesitantly.

"Great! If you come by this afternoon, I'll give you all the materials for the class. Again, thank you so much." Clara smiled at Ade's chippy voice. He was one of the closest friends she had in the school… even after Danny died, he was always there to support her as a friend.

"Great, see you then." She hung up and sat on the sofa, with her hand on her chin. After much thought, she decided not to tell the Doctor. He would make too much of a fuss.

* * *

"Hey everyone! I'll be taking your class for about a week as Mr Davies had to leave due to family emergencies. For those who don't know me, my name is Miss Oswald. But I probably know most of you from drama club or just generally being around the school." Clara looked around the class to see them uninterested. Of course they were. "All I know is that you guys are working on an assessment task right now, but if you need help, I'll try to be as helpful as I can." she gave a friendly smile. "Any questions?"

"Miss, have you been dieting?" Everyone snickered. Clara didn't react – she stood there momentarily in a dazed state. Was the effects of her cancer that obvious?

She cleared her throat. "Bit inappropriate. But, nah, I've just been travelling a bit. Probably lost weight from exploring and so on." She pretended to be cool with it. That's what students liked, a 'chill' teacher. However, no matter how she tried, she couldn't hide the nervous quiver in her voice. But In a way, that was true. The students in the class whispered among themselves.

"Where did you go?" A boy spoke out.

Clara smirked as she clapped enthusiastically. "Tell you what, you guys do your work, and I'll tell you about the places I went to ten minutes before the bell." They moaned. They probably wanted her to fill the lesson with her talking about her 'travel'.

* * *

Despite their attitude, Clara was very impressed at how silent the class was throughout the lesson. 'I guess it's the difference between taking seniors and juniors,' she thought as she sat down. It was about ten minutes to the bell, and Clara was extremely exhausted and eager to return home. Suddenly, she saw a small arm raised at the back of the class.

"Yes, Ben?" Clara knew the kid quite well as he used to be in her junior class. He was one of the most brilliant students she had ever had.

"It's ten minutes till the bell, miss. You promised us that you'll tell us about places you've travelled," Ben said with his twinkling eyes. Everyone looked up quietly with a murmur. They didn't really seem that interested, but probably thought it better than doing their work for the next ten minutes. Clara didn't expect Ben to remember that promise. But she could see he really wanted to hear about it. Clara sat on the teacher's desk trying to make up a story.

"Okay…" Clara went on and told them about visiting 'Egypt' and exploring inside the 'pyramid' with an 'explorer'. Most of it was fictional but it was based on her adventures to Ahkaten with the Doctor. Then, the bell rang, and the students quickly filed out.

After seeing the last student out, Clara slumped on the chair. She didn't do much in this period, but she was exhausted. Clara ran her hands through her hair as a habit, and froze when she drew out a clump of her brown hair. She held it in front of her glazed eyes, unable to process it at all. Her brain had gone foggy.

"Miss?" It was Ben. Clara gave a yelp, nearly falling from a chair. Her eyes darted quickly from Ben to the clump of hair that had fallen to the floor. Ben saw the clump as well, and realised exactly what it was. "I- I didn't mean to…" He dashed out in embarrassment.

"No! Ben!" Clara ran after him, and with difficulty, she caught him just in front of the school gates. Clara bowed down, panting. A wave of nausea hit her, but she kept it down.

"I-I'm so sorry miss, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I just wanted to say thank you for the stories you told us. I had no idea you were…" Clara was surprised to see him in tears.

"Hey, hey. No, Ben, you have nothing to be sorry for." Clara sincerely gazed him into his green, sad eyes. Ben was a very smart, sweet boy. Clara knew him well because she was the one who had suggested Ian to send him to Ade's class, from junior to a senior class. "But I just need you to promise that you won't tell anyone. Do you think you can do that? Just one little secret between you and I."

Ben nodded as he sniffled. "Of course." He paused and looked around. "But is it okay if I tell my mum?"

"Your m…"

"Ben!"

Clara was interrupted by someone calling his name.

Ben turned around to the source of the sound. Clara followed his gaze to see a woman approaching them in a wheelchair. Clara's gazed at her in shock.

"Hello. I'm Miriam. Ben's mother." Miriam gave her a brilliant smile. "You must be one of Ben's teachers." During the whole ordeal about getting Ben to move classes, Clara had been acquainted with Ben's father, George. But this was the first time she saw Miriam. "Ben, sweetie, why are you crying? Did you get into trouble with your teacher?" Miriam wiped the tears off Ben and kissed him on his forehead.

"Clara Oswald." She shook her hand. "I've met your husband, George before. I've heard a lot about you from him. It's a pleasure finally meeting you."

Miriam gave her a brighter smile in realisation. "Oh, you're Miss Oswald! I've heard lots of good things from Ben, and George. Thank you so much for everything, I never got to meet you because, well, I think you might have an idea." Miriam ran her hands through her bald head. "I would have loved to come, but my situation was not that great back then."

Ben stared at Clara, asking for her permission. Clara slightly nodded with a neutral smile.

"Mum, Miss Oswald has cancer too."

Miriam's mouth opened in shock. "I…I am so sorry to hear that. May I ask what kind?"

Being named a cancer patient from someone felt surprisingly unnatural. "Hodgkins, stage 4. Had my first chemo yesterday." It seemed like she'd done it years ago, but she realised that it had only been a day. She had to admit that it was quite a crazy day today.

"Yesterday?! And you're still teaching?"

"Actually, she's our relief for Mr Davies, mum." Ben explained, and Miriam nodded.

"Well, Miss Oswald, you are clearly a very brave woman. But please don't push yourself, the next few set will be very hard. Maybe it might not be for you, but I certainly struggled to get through all of them. If you need to ask me any questions about anything, feel free to contact me through Ben. It's the least I can do for everything you've done for him."

Clara expressed her thanks and said goodbye to Ben and Miriam before catching the bus back to her flat. She laid on the bed facing the ceiling, tearing up. But those were not sad tears. They were happy tears, knowing that she wasn't alone.

* * *

The second evening after chemo was horrible. Actually, it was beyond horrible, it was like she was living through a nightmare. She barely caught any sleep, because she was busy spilling her stomach into a toilet bowl. She really needed someone, but the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. Clara quickly reached for the phone and returned to continue her retching. The whole sight was not pretty at all. She scrolled through her contacts and hovered over the Doctor's phone number. Then, she continued scrolling, and called her oncology doctor.

By the time she had been hospitalised, it was almost midnight. That means, she had been vomiting on and off for almost 8 hours. She was so grateful that everything had finally settled down, albeit the slight dizziness brought on by dehydration. She slept blissfully until 11am, where she discharged herself with a new set of anti-sickness drugs.

She briefly went to her flat, tossed the pills on the bed and took her materials for school. It was 11:30, so she could make it to Ade's senior English class if she hurried. For some reason, she felt a responsibility to the students. She somehow felt better staying in her usual routine, because there was less guilt than when she stayed in bed.

Ade had emailed her the outlines for today, which was to teach them how to write a proper essay, just in case the students needed refreshing their memories. That was fine, she'd done that thousands of times with her junior classes.

* * *

"Right, today, we're going to learn about essay writing. This might be a revision for some of you, but listen carefully, just in case you need to refresh your memories, okay? Now, can anyone tell me how you can structure an analytical essay?"

A hand raised. It was Jessica, the student who made remarks about her weight loss the day before.

"Yes, Jessica. Be warned, if this is another inappropriate joke, I'm going to send you straight to Mr Chesterton."

"No, Miss. I'm just worried about your face, that's all. You look pale… you know… like hungover." The students snickered.

Clara scowled. "It's great to see that you're worrying about me, but I'm fine, and I'm definitely not hungover. This is your last warning, Jessica." She heard a 'whatever' from her direction, but she decided to ignore it.

Clara opened the cap to the whiteboard marker. "Now essays…" Clara tried writing STRUCTURE, but dropped the pen with a sharp jolt of pain. Everyone laughed. Clara sighed. She guessed that she had probably touch the fresh IV wound from few minutes ago, causing the pain. When she tried to pick the marker up, she visibly saw her hands shaking, and felt a terrible sense of pins and needles. It was almost to the point that it felt like it was paralysed.

Ben sprung out of seat, quickly picked the pen up, and went to the whiteboard.

'Structure – Introduction, body, conclusion.' He wrote on the board. Clara thought that boy was a blessing. Ben gave her the pen back and whispered, 'are you okay?'

Clara gave a small nod only visible to Ben. "Thank you Ben. Now moving on…" After some deep breaths, Clara's hands were back to normal again – as normal as her situation could get, so she went about teaching.

"…now for the rest of the lesson, can you have a go at writing one yourself? Write about a book you've recently finished, and hand it to me at the end of the lesson." I'll get them marked and give you some feedback by the start of the next lesson.

Everyone opened their laptops and started typing away. Clara tried walking around, but realised how dizzy and unsteady her pace was, so she returned to her desk.

Thankfully, before anything could get worse, the bell rang to signal the end of school. She was literally saved by the bell.

"Don't forget to email me your essays, and have a great weekend." She said, leaning on the wall for support. She pretended everything was fine, and the students bought it.

"Have a good weekend, Miss, and take care of yourself." Ben smiled.

"Thank you, Ben." Clara replied. She still felt grateful for what he did in the beginning of the lesson.

Ben was heading home when he realised he had left his laptop in the classroom. He ran back to the school and sighed in relief as he saw the classroom door still open. Open door meant Miss Oswald was still inside.

"Sorry Miss Oswald, I-" Ben dropped his bag. Clara was on the floor with his laptop in her hand. Her head was bleeding, the red blood pooled around her head, which contrasted to the white linoleum tiles of the school floor. His heart raced a million miles as he saw the amount of blood sprawled on the floor. He'd seen this sight before, on that day when his mum was extremely sick. He was wrong to think that he'd never have to witness it again.

"Help! Help!" He cried out as he dived into her bag. The first thing he found was Clara's white phone. He called 999 and notified them. He touched Clara and felt her burning up.

By then, the teachers had come in and pushed him out of the classroom. He had no idea what he could do to help. The EMTs arrived and Ben saw his unconscious teacher being wheeled out. He realised he still had Clara's phone with him, so he decided to contact her cancer doctor. Because that's what his dad did when his mum was being carried into the ambulance.

In Clara's contacts, he found a number for 'The Doctor'. He called whoever this was.

"Clara!" A voice chirpily called from the other side.

"Are you Miss Oswald's doctor?" He asked nervously.

"Who is this? Why do you have Clara's number? Where's Clara?" The voice had drastically changed.

Ben gulped "I-I am one of her student. I thought I would let you know that she collapsed in school. We're waiting for an ambulance right now." The phone hung up, and a blue box appeared in front of him.

"Where is she?" An old man popped out of the box.

"Are you the same man I was talking to?" Ben stepped away. What had he just seen? A blue box had appeared out of nowhere. "Hang on. Aren't you the caretaker… from last year?"

"Where is she?" He demanded with a fierce voice.

"S-she just left in the ambulance." He pointed at the ambulance that wailed off.

The Doctor went back into the TARDIS.

"Wait!" Ben entered the TARDIS and froze in shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for all the best wishes. I am feeling much better than last week, probably because I spent half of it sleeping and rolling around in bed (so lazy, wow). Anyway, I really wanted to say thank you to everyone - your reviews put a smile on my face and helped me get through some tough times throughout this week. A virtual hug for all of you!
> 
> -Lumi


	7. Nobody's Fault

"It's bigger… on the inside?!" He looked around in wild confusion.

"Why are you here?!" He annoyingly rolled his eyes. And then he sighed.

"It's called the TARDIS- Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. Can't talk. Short hops are difficult." The Doctor madly flung around the console, until the TARDIS landed. "They're not going to let us see her for at least 10 minutes or so, so I landed 15 minutes after she was admitted." Of course, Ben had no idea what he was talking about.

"We've moved?!" Ben looked around. Whatever that blue box was, it was not of this world.

"Yeah, yeah, I told you. Time and space machine, try to keep up. Now, time to find your teacher. Well, not you, don't you have a bigger pudding brain waiting for you or something?" He sprinted off to the info desk.

Ben realised that his parents were still waiting for him. He used Clara's phone to text his mum. 'Mum, it's Ben. Don't wait for me, I'm going to Tom's house.' He then quickly texted Tom. 'Tom, it's Ben. If mum calls, tell her that I'm with you. It's a code 0.'

Ben looked up to see the Doctor being led by a nurse. "Mister, wait for me!" Ben ran to catch up.

The Doctor turned around and pointed the sonic at Ben. "Don't call me Mister. Call me the Doctor."

* * *

 

They eventually found Clara, in a secluded area in the ER surrounded by dividing curtains. No one was there, except Clara on a back board. Ben paled, seeing his teacher like that. There was a small stitch mark on her head, where she had been bleeding a few minutes ago. Her head was strapped into a square-like helmet, and she looked as if she was sleeping uncomfortably. "What's that?" Ben whispered, pointing at the orange helmet thing.

"It's a back board and a neck brace. They put it on patients to stop their head and back from moving, just in case they had a concussion. It's nothing serious, don't worry," the Doctor whispered back, but the reassurance was aimed at himself more than Ben. Ben quietly sat in the corner, not knowing how to process the information. First it was his mum, now he was watching his favourite teacher at her worst. He didn't cry, he just… stared at her, emptily.

The Doctor glanced at Ben and saw a reflection of himself. The pained, traumatised eyes that have seen it all. He knew he had to comfort this child.

"Do you want to go home?" the Doctor asked gently, not knowing what else to say. The little human next to him wasn't like the other small humans in the hospital. He was a special kind, therefore he naturally wanted to treat him specially.

Ben shook his head, "No thanks, not yet."

Ben gave him a look, which was pleading the Doctor to leave him alone. The Doctor obeyed and looked over Clara's injuries instead.

Clara's brown eyes opened slightly. The Doctor saw them focusing on him. "Well, well, well." The Doctor forgot about Ben as he held her hand as he leaned over her limited sight.

Clara gave a small chuckle. "You look funny from this angle," she closed her eyes with a slight shudder.

The Doctor frowned. "Well, you look absolutely ridiculous sandwiched in between those things," he remarked, but Clara didn't reply. He reached for her forehead, and felt that it was burning.

When the nurse came in, she took off the neck brace. "She's fine. Slight concussion, but nothing serious. However, we are worried about her fever – we've administered fever reducing medicine when she was admitted, but her fever has gotten worse. If this continues, we will have to send her down to the ICU, to stabilise her condition. Her assigned doctors are on their way, so they will know more than we do at the moment."

The Doctor sighed, and turned around to see Ben silently crying. He crouched down. He was touched at how much the boy cared for his teacher.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home? It's okay, she'll be fine, I promise," it was a promise the Doctor hoped true as well.

"I'm going to wait until Miss Oswald wakes up," Ben quickly buried his face to hide the fact that he's crying. He wasn't trying to cry, but he couldn't help it because it was all his fault.

"Why?" He raised his eyebrows. Why would this young male human so interested in Clara?

"Because it's my fault. She was holding onto my laptop when I saw her collapsed on the floor. She probably went to my desk to retrieve it and fell over and hurt her head." Ben looked down on the ground wiping his tears. "She's going to die because of me."

"The reason she fell over is because of her fever. It was nothing to do with you - she was stupid enough to go to school to teach, even though she was told not to by me. You didn't hurt her, you saved her. I should be thanking you for calling me and calling the ambulance. Look, I honestly think she won't be able to wake up anytime soon because she's not well enough. I'll take you home but I'll promise I'll let you know when she wakes up. Why don't you keep Clara's phone for a bit? I'll call you through that."

Ben hesitantly nodded and he took a trip in the TARDIS one last time to his house.

* * *

 

Clara was fine. She even paced up to the laptop at the back of the class. She picked it up and turned around. Nope, she wasn't fine. The pressure behind her eyes were too much to bear. A splitting headache became worse as she hit the ground. She had no idea how long had passed, but saw a shadow of a boy coming in and calling 999. Then she was uncomfortably placed into something that stopped her neck from moving. She didn't care about that though, she only worried about the squiggly lines dancing in front of her eyes.

When she was moved out of the ambulance into a hospital bed, the doctors screamed questions at her. She was too dazed to talk – she just wanted to sleep. But whenever she tried to, the nurses and the doctors would wake her up with an annoying poke or with cold liquid.

Then, she saw the Doctor. He looked so worried.

"Well, well, well." His voice sounded almost like an echo.

"You look funny from this angle." She couldn't say anything else, about how sorry she was for not listening, and the guilt she felt for dragging him back to the hospital. She didn't want to worry him, but yet, here he was, worrying. He was going to be angry at her, and that made her anxious. The splitting headache was getting worse and she decided to close her eyes again.

"…Are you sure you don't want to go home? It's okay, she'll be fine, I promise," she distantly heard the Doctor's voice. Was he speaking to her?

"I'm going to wait until Miss Oswald wakes up." The voice seemed very familiar, but she couldn't place whose it was. It was a young boy, but not much was coming to her – all she could think about was the headache and the building anxiety from knowing the Doctor was going to be angry at her.

" ….Because it's my fault. …probably ….fell over and hurt her head." The words left her. The swelling pain encompassed her entirely at that point.

Next time Clara opened her eyes, she heard the sonic buzzing in front of her face. She batted it away.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" It was a grumpy voice.

She slowly sat up, and the Doctor slightly moved away in caution. She glanced at the Doctor and frowned after feeling how stiff her neck was.

"Your fever should be gone." The Doctor's image was finally in focus. She properly realised she was in the hospital, in a general ward with other patients. That explained what the beeping noise were.

"I-I'm so sorry." Clara apologised.

"For what?"

"For not listening to you, for dragging you here and for making you worry."

"You don't need to be sorry, Clara. You should never feel sorry for me. It's my fault for leaving you so suddenly. I think I had a rough night- I woke up this morning and couldn't remember anything from yesterday. All I can remember is laughing at a joke about bottoms."

Clara laughed. "Didn't know you were that sort of a bloke." The Doctor laughed with her, but inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Clara break into laughter. It reminded him how much he missed that face. "So, do you know when I can go home?" Clara changed the topic.

"You'll be discharged from hospital tomorrow night, if they think you're well enough to go. They also want to install a port below your collarbone, because your veins couldn't withstand chemo. Apparently that was one of the reasons you were getting a killer headache– your body went into shock from the toxic chemicals shrivelling your veins."

'Great, another scar on my body,' She bitterly thought. She didn't care though, because at the moment, her arm looked like she had been overdosing on drugs from all the scans she had to do. She heard that having a port was much more convenient, just because it reduced the places to be poked and prodded by doctors and nurses. The only worry was the possibility of having that seen by her friends, family or students who didn't know about this whole ordeal.

"That's fine, I guess," she sighed.

Clara fell asleep momentarily after (or was it during?) having a casual conversation with the Doctor. The next time she woke up, disappointment flooded in as she realised that the Doctor had left.

* * *

 

The Doctor was explaining a possible adventure to the planet of Oz, with flying monkeys, witches and the yellow brick road, just like the story of 'Wizard of Oz'. Halfway through his description of Dorothy, he realised that Clara had fallen asleep. He gave a sad smile and ran his fingers through her hair. His hearts broke when he accidentally pulled out a clump of hair in the process. Chemo was noticeably affecting Clara. That was when he realised how thin her hair had become, and how terribly pale she was. He slowly kissed her forehead. "You'll be okay, Clara. I will protect you," he squeezed her hand and brought it to his cheeks.

The Doctor took off in the TARDIS and landed in the Woman's house again.

"Ah, how is she?" the Woman asked as soon as the door opened.

"I need the second batch," He didn't reply to her question. He pushed the door and entered the house uninvited.

"Bit rude, aren't you?" She firmly placed her hands on her hips in annoyance. "First one was free, but I'm afraid the other parts will cost you. But you already knew that, right?"

The Doctor slumped down on her couch, and placed his hands on his face. "Yes."

The Doctor was back in the TARDIS. He looked at the reflection of his weary self on the central column. He then laid down on his bed and looked at the holographic stars sprawled over his bedroom ceiling. The stars became fuzzy from the water in his eyes.

"Just a bit more."

The Doctor muttered to himself as he curled up in his bed.


	8. Learning a Lesson

The Doctor knew the reason for her fever. He never told Clara, but it was his fault. The liquid given by the Woman was far too strong for Clara to handle. Her healthy veins that were supposed to withstand chemo had completely shrivelled in one go. He sighed as he sat in the Woman's house, watching his blood pump into the machine.

"Now, the second intake is different. It will cause her a lot of side effects. A lot more than what her chemo is going to cause her. You have to make sure that those primal doctors don't see the damage, because they will think it's caused by chemo, and they will stop the therapy to try stopping the 'damage'. We don't want that to happen – this is an additional drug, so it will work only when chemotherapy is present." The Woman mumbled along as she busily worked on the distant bench.

"That's if it will ever work," he had retorted, unemotionally taking the needles out of his veins and placing a cotton ball to stop the blood. "I hope I am sacrificing myself for the  _right_ cause," he fiercely stared into the Woman. She stared back with even more intensity.

"You're the one who came begging for my help." She tossed the vial into his hand. "You know what to do."

"Right." He pocketed the vial.

"-except, this time, you have to do it when she's conscious. Or else you won't be able to see the side effects until it's too late," the woman warned him.

"I-I cannot possibly-" he swallowed a lump in his throat. 'This is all for Clara,' he reminded himself. He corrected his stance. "I'll be back in two weeks. You better have it ready."

"And you too," she gave a sly smile.

* * *

It had been five full days after she was dismissed from the hospital. She was proud that she was able to manage it by herself for five days without the Doctor's help. She often felt lonely but knew that she would get by. She kept herself busy by reading, taking up watercolours and relief teaching, and that helped her to stop herself from calling him. Sure, seeing the Doctor was great, but she felt guilty that he had to be dragged into her mess.

She couldn't help herself but to go back to school. Ian was worried, but Clara now knew the warning symptoms she had to look out for. She insisted that she was fine, and thankfully, she was allowed to go back to teaching Ade's classes again.

The first time Ben saw her back in school, he was relieved. "Miss Oswald, are you feeling okay now? I visited you when you were in the hospital, but I don't think you were awake. I left a card though."

Clara froze. She didn't even realise she received cards. The Doctor probably had taken them knowing that she would feel bad.

Ben handed the phone back to Clara. "The Doctor told me to keep it until I saw you again. I didn't do anything bad, I promise."

 _Ben had met the Doctor._  Clara received the phone dumbfounded. "T-thanks Ben." She stood there in daze. What else was she supposed to say? Flood the kid with all the questions going through her head? She didn't think so. She was sure that conversation was to come soon though.

Clara was finally her normal self again. She taught fine, felt fine and even managed to get most of Ade's class to like her. Except Jessica. She was like a bigger, meaner and more unreasonable version of Courtney.

* * *

Clara was getting the class to do Macbeth, in the lead up to their midyear exams.

"Jess, can you read the Macbeth's soliloquy on page 20 please?" She probably wasn't going to oblige, but it was worth a try.

"Your face looks like Macbeth." The class laughed after her comment.

Clara sighed as she rolled her eyes. Of course. Jess was always Jess.

"Jess, you're acting worse than an average five-year old. Please try to refrain yourself." She was about to move on, when she heard something awful coming from Jess.

"Says a teacher who faints as to pass time." She spat out with attitude. Everyone murmured in the background. Clara's eyes widened. How could Jessica know about what had happened? She had begged the staff not to tell anyone about the incident. She stared at Ben, but dropped the suspicion when she saw how surprised he was as well.

"Right, go to Mr Chesterton's office. Now." She ordered, but her heart was beating wildly inside. She hoped that the class didn't really believe her. Jess went completely red in anger.

"FINE. I hate your stupid face anyway!" She yelled and kicked Clara's shin, knocking her to the ground.

Clara returned to her seat with a grimace, but managed to finish the lesson before seeing the damage Jessica had done. Her leg was swollen up in bright red and purple, and walking was currently too much to handle.

"Uh, miss." Ben timidly knocked the door after the bell. Clara put on a mask of fake happiness.

"Yes Ben. What can I do for you?" She pretended to pack her books in her bag.

"My dad's here." As a cue, George walked in in his uniform.

"George, nice to see you again! How are you?" She hoped that he didn't see through her façade. Ben was easy to fool because he was still a child. But trying to lie to a paramedic that she was okay… was an impossible feat.

"Stop hiding it, Clara. Stop acting like you're all okay." He stared at her with his arms crossed. "I've seen enough people to know that you're not." He bent down and looked at her swollen leg. "How were you going to get home with this?"

"Well, I could have caught a cab," she shrugged. George looked scary. He looked genuinely angry about the ordeal.

"I brought the ambulance with me. And don't you dare say no," He angrily threw open a wheelchair. "You know, Miriam was a lot like you when she was first diagnosed. So stubborn and lying to herself that she was okay. It's dangerous doing that. You have to learn to accept help from others. You know we're all in this together."

* * *

Clara was waiting in the waiting room for a long time. Even after the scans and check-ups, the wait in between was agonisingly lengthy.

"Hey Clara, we're going to take you to a bed because they want you to do some extra tests," her oncology doctor woke her up dozing off. "It's better than waiting in this cold corridor, right?" she warmly smiled.

Clara was frightened. "I-is something wrong?" She was only there to do a quick scan. Why was she being offered a bed? What extra tests did they want to conduct?

"Oh, it's hopefully nothing." Another smile. But Clara saw right through the smile. Her doctor was worried, therefore she was as well. The sentence didn't reassure her one bit.

* * *

The Doctor was in flight when he received a call from Ben, who had become his favourite little spy in Coal Hill. Ben now kept him up to date with everything that happened in the school, and most importantly, how Clara was doing.

"Miss Oswald is in the hospital again. Jessica- one of the girls in my class kicked her, and dad reckons she broke her leg."

"Thank you, Ben. Will be there soon." He hung up. He wasn't going to go directly to Clara yet. From Ben's accounts, Jessica was countlessly described as an awful child, and he was going to fix that.

The Doctor decided to travel to Jessica's childhood. If he was going to fix her, he had to know what caused her to become what she is in the first place.

"Jess, wait here for a bit, okay?" Her friends at kindergarten instructed her to stay inside the cupboard. "This is going to be the best hide and seek spot ever!" They giggled. "I'm going to see if the 'it' is coming."

They closed the cupboard with Jess still in it. The kids snickered and locked the cupboard. The Doctor watched as Jess pounded on the door. He couldn't take part in her time stream, because it was going to affect everyone related to Jessica in the future. Hours passed and finally, a teacher managed to find her.

"Jess!" The cupboard was unlocked again to reveal a kid crying in fear. "Stop crying, it's your fault for going in the cupboard in the first place."

The Doctor frowned and jumped in the TARDIS again. Surely the teacher was better than that? The TARDIS landed and this time, she must have been at a school camp in the midst of a forest. The children filed out of the wooden huts.

"Right everyone, we're going to go night hiking, so make sure to stay close." The teacher instructed the kids.

Jessica scoffed. "To hell with it. I'm not following that devil's instructions." She went the opposite way.

Jess was lost in the forest. She was properly frightened. Little did she know the person in the corner of her eye was the Doctor. She wandered around until dawn, when the Doctor secretly led the navigational devices of the rescue people to the poor kid. She didn't seem frightened though. She blamed her teacher for getting lost.

He was back to her present day. The Doctor stalked her until she was finally alone. She was smoking a cigarette alone in an abandoned alleyway. He wore his hood and pretended to casually walk past, and before Jess could recognise his face, he sprayed anaesthetic on her.

* * *

When Jess woke up, she realised that she was suspended in air… no. She was suspended in empty space. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She acted fearless in school, but inside, she wasn't the tough girl with attitude. She was scared of the dark. She was afraid of what she couldn't see.

* * *

"Who's that in the corner of the eye?" His voice whispered into her ear, yet Jess didn't see anyone. "Who could it possibly be?"

Jess was in a mess. She was on the verge of crying. The Doctor couldn't stand children crying, but he had to make a point. It was to benefit her and everyone who was affected by her harassment.

"You might think you're alone, but you never are. There's always someone watching, there's always someone nearby. Always behind you, always under your bed." His silhouette revolved around Jessica.

He stopped in front of her and continued, "And that's me. The shadow. He lifted his hood, but the light only illuminated his pale blue eyes and the furious eyebrow. Jess burst into tears.

"You may be asking how you could make me go away." The Doctor whispered into her ears again. "Do you want to leave this place?"

Jessica nodded furiously. She desperately wanted to get out of here.

"You just need to make sure that you change how you live. Be nice to your teachers, friends and family, or you'll be back here." The surrounding changed to the inside of the cupboard. "Or here." Now the surrounding changed to the forest in the dark. They were the places that plagued her nightmares. "I will be watching."

With that note, the darkness faded away, and Jessica woke up in the alleyway again. Her cigarette was smothered into ashes, and the sun was already going down. She ran back to her house, as fast as she could possibly run.

The Doctor gave a victorious smile, and landed in the hospital.

* * *

They placed a splint on her leg and Clara's waiting game began once again. She didn't even have any books, so she was stuck to watching cheesy soap opera through a small TV across the ward. The first few hours were fine, but as time passed, the family members of other patients slowly arrived to accompany them. The sight of them made Clara miss having company as well. She finally gave in and texted the Doctor, 'Doctor, come see me. I'm at the hospital.'

She heard a small buzz close-by.

"I know, Ben called me about it." The Doctor popped out from underneath the bed.

Clara gave a little yelp. "H-how long have you been there?"

"Frankly, I'm too embarrassed to tell. If it makes you feel any better, I've optimised the suspension and maximised the comfort level of these terrible beds."

"And I would ask what you were doing here, but I know already – you broke a leg because a student kicked you," he frowned. "Ben already told me what happened. But let's just say that Jessica will never bother you again."

Clara sat up in shock. "Oh my stars, what did you do to her?!"

The Doctor smirked as an answer. The curtain opened and her oncology doctor stood there in brooding darkness. "Hello, Doctor, nice seeing you again. But sorry, can I talk to Clara in person please?"

"Anything you say to me can be said to him too," Clara replied, looking into the Doctor's eyes, and he slightly tilted his head as thanks.

"Well, we just received the scans." The oncology doctor stalled.

"…and?" the Doctor impatiently replied instead of Clara.

"… the good news is, your chemo seems to be working well. The cancer cells have stopped growing."

Clara knew there was something wrong. "and the bad news?"

"But the bad news is, they've found another tumour in your bone."

Clara paled, and the Doctor quietly left the room.


	9. Choices

The Doctor didn't even wait for the door to open. In the Time Lord's rage, he kicked the door down and pinned the woman by her neck on the wall.

"D-Doctor?!" She didn't even have time to react. "You broke my door! You could have knocked!"

"Shut up." His voice was low and growly. "You don't have the right to talk to me right now." The Doctor reached to his pocket, and back to her neck.

The woman felt a small prick on her neck. The Doctor's hands were released, and she slumped on the ground with her hand covering the impact area. She brought her hand in front of her eyes to see a speck of blood.

"That…" The Doctor paced around her like he was stalking a prey, "… was a microbomb timed to detonate in ten minutes. And this is a button that will stop the detonation." He breathed out slowly, trying to control his boiling rage. "If I find you lying, or answers dissatisfactory, I'll let the bomb paint this room with pink and red from your innards."

"Okay, okay, Doctor, calm down. You know I am enslaved to you. You know I can't do you any harm. Just tell me what you want from me. Why are you so angry?" The woman stood up and gathered courage to look directly at the Doctor's furious blue eyes.

"What have you done with Clara?" He gritted his teeth. "What did you give her?"

"What do you mean? I gave her the first treatment. It stops the cancer cells from expanding. I had this conversation with you. I explained everything." The woman tilted her head in confusion.

"Clara's bone density has been decreasing ever since she had her first chemo. Not only that, they've also detected a tumour in her bone. Now, I know it is unlikely for her chemo to do this – and one thing that has changed other than chemo is your concoction." He stabbed the screwdriver on her face.

"What?" Her facial expression changed. The Doctor could see that she was genuinely shocked to hear the news. "How… "She paused. "I don't know why. I swear… on everything." She went over to her bench and looked through the paper stuck on the walls. She turned around to face the Doctor again while glancing at a piece of paper.

"I need to see her. I need a living sample freshly extracted from her. I don't care if you're keeping this a secret from her. If you want her to live, then let me see her." She urgently glanced at a clock, nervous sweat dropping from the side of her face. "Please, countermand the detonation. I want to know why this is happening equally as you do." She kneeled and begged the Doctor.

The Doctor pressed the button and the woman exhaled in relief.

"You better clean this place up before I get back. You're a doctor now. Doctors are supposed to look presentable for their patients. I don't want you to say any word about my payment for this treatment." The TARDIS door slammed shut, and the woman was left alone once again.

While the TARDIS was in flight, the Doctor realised he had left his sonic screwdriver in the woman's house. The phone started ringing, and he assumed that the woman was calling him to remind him. The Doctor had no interest in talking to her at this moment, as his rage was still slowly simmering inside him. He let it ring out, sitting on his sofa with his head on his temples. He looked up as the phone started ringing one more time. This time, he relayed the call straight to his voicemail, and sure enough, the phone on the other side hung up before the beep sounded. He felt a petty yet glorious satisfaction from hanging up.

* * *

"We can remove the tumour. But you have to decide before today." Clara's doctor intently watched as he watched Clara deep in thought. Clara had been given a choice between cutting a part of her leg bone and knee off to completely remove the tumour, or wait and see if chemo was naturally going to destroy it. Having a surgery was going to leave her wheelchair bound for a very long time during her rehabilitation, and leaving it could eventually kill her if it metastasises to other organs. Either way, they were going to permanently impact Clara. It was an unfortunate timing, as the best doctor for the surgery was going to leave in two days.

"Can I call someone before I make up my mind please?" Clara said, after a long pause. "I think I need to talk to someone about it first. Clear my head of hasty thoughts."

"Okay Clara. I don't mean to rush you, but you have to get back to me by the end of today, okay? Just remember, we're trying to do our best by giving you the best opportunity." Her oncologist doctor gave her a warm smile, and left her to decide.

Clara painfully walked to the foyer of the hospital with her new crutches. Chemo was not doing her a favour, as each step depleted her energy to move. She was offered wheelchairs, and her mind wavered at the sight of a patient in one. But she was determined to stay upright – and don't ask for help until she desperately needed it. She finally reached the chairs and sat down to breathe out a sigh of relief. The chairs were blissfully comfortable, especially after the painful journey with crutches. She took her phone out and scrolled through her contacts. She hovered her finger over 'Doctor', but resisted the temptation. She wasn't going to be needy. She had promised herself not to burden the Time Lord as it wasn't his business to worry.

"Hello?" The dialling tone was cut short by a familiar voice.

"Hi Ben! It's Clara here." Clara put on her best bubbly voice. "Is your mum around? Can I speak to her please?"

"Miss Oswald! Are you okay? Everyone in school is worried about you. Mr Chesterton told the whole school. Jess is in a lot of trouble. And sure, I'll get my mum."

Clara blanked out a bit. Ian… had told the whole school about the incident. Everyone was worrying about her. Her mind swirled into blackness. She felt a sense of dread casting over her. She was pulled back into the real world when she heard another voice over the phone.

"Hello, Clara. How are you and are you okay? I heard lots of concerning news from Ben."

"Hey Miriam. Is there any chance I could talk to you sometime today? Face to face would be preferable. I just need to talk to someone about something."

* * *

Miriam sat on the bedside chair listening to every word Clara had to say. She gravely nodded her head when she understood the choice Clara was left with.

"Have you asked your family?"

Clara looked away in guilt. Miriam jolted in her seat in shock.

"What… you… haven't told them? Just like you haven't told Coal Hill? Clara, this is not good." Miriam shook her head in disbelief. "I can't force you to tell them, but this is definitely a bad idea."

"I know, I know… I guess I was just…"

"Selfish." Miriam finished Clara's sentence.

Clara stopped abruptly with a stare. "… I was going to say scared." A million thoughts went through her head. She understood what Miriam was saying.

Miriam stood up. "Well, I won't pressure you to do anything… the choice is yours. But I definitely recommend talking to someone, bottling all this is a terrible, terrible idea because it will drive you insane. Just talk to at least one friend- someone who is close to you. Chances are, they will do whatever they can to help you, and you will feel so much better having them by your side. No one will think you're a burden. I promise, that's what I thought too when George had to help me. Good luck with your choice, and let me know what you choose later. Take care of yourself."

* * *

Miriam had left, and Clara gazed at the sun that was setting outside the hospital window, rethinking what Miriam had advised her. With courage, Clara called the TARDIS. The first time she called, she waited, but after what seemed like ages, the dialling tone stopped. She gathered courage again and called the second time, but it went straight to his voicemail. She guessed that he was busy, and hung up before the beep sounded. She listened to Miriam, but he was unavailable, and time was running out.

"Clara, have you decided?" Clara's oncologist doctor entered her ward.

Clara momentarily closed her eyes and quickly sorted through her head.

"Yes. I have."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I am back! I'm so sorry I was away, I've nearly died multiple times, but I am still hanging on. I'm fine now though, happy and healthy (sort of).  
> Thank you for waiting for sooo long... and I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)  
> (btw, the Doctor, Clara and Missy are FANTASTIC this series. Steven Moffat, you never cease to amaze me :D)
> 
> Till the next time!
> 
> Lumi


	10. A Call for Help

Clara woke up in her hospital bed with an intriguing, fragrant smell. There was a steaming mug of tea on the bedside table. Clara didn't know whose it was, but drank a sip to quench her thirst. She placed the mug down and fell asleep once again.

Doctor popped out from around the corner and checked her pulse. After checking her for any side effects, he lifted her up and took her gently placed her inside her TARDIS bedroom. He arrived at the Woman's house, and laid her on the long sofa, trying to keep her as comfortable as she can.

"You have half an hour." The Doctor gazed at the clock and then checked the sleeping Clara once again. "I assume you can get it done by then?"

"My, my. She is a pretty little thing." She reached to grab her scanners.

"Don't. You. Dare. Her name is Clara, and you will not all her a thing." He growled.

"Okay. Hands off the little… I mean, Clara." She corrected herself as she pricked Clara's skin with a needle. "Pity about that primitive cast, though. That looks so bulky and stupid." She glanced at her medical scanner with the results. "The Doctor drugging his companion?" She half-wittingly smiled. "That's a first."

The Doctor clenched his jaw. "Only reason I drugged her is because I didn't want her finding out."

"Such a coward." The woman wheeled across to her lab and turned the centrifuge with Clara's blood sample on. Within seconds, the machine spewed long piece of paper with the results. The woman handed the Doctor with the results. "Oooh, look at that. She is properly sick, isn't she?"

"Just shut up and tell me what's wrong with her bones." He spat.

"No cancer in the bones. A similar kind, but nothing serious. It's just a blip, but those primitive humans probably jumped the gun. They wouldn't pick the difference up because of their limited technology in that era. Do you know how many people suffered back then from misdiagnosis? Seems like Miss Clara here was going to be the victim of that as well. Now that I have her proper sample, I can actually prescribe her with the right kind of drugs. The weakening of her bones was just a small side effect, Doctor – she'll be fine. I'll make sure to add something next time that will stop that."

The Woman shot a beam from her medical scanner, and Clara flinched slightly in her sleep.

The Doctor held Clara's hand. "I'm sorry, Clara. Oh, Clara, my Clara."

"I've fixed her broken leg to a walkable degree. You can take her back, Doctor. See you soon. I'm running out of your resources. Oh, by the way, you forgot this." She threw his screwdriver to him.

"I was wondering when you were going to give it back. I thought you were desperate to give it back – I mean, you even called twice." He placed the screwdriver inside his jacket.

"What? I don't even know your TARDIS number. You said you will give it to me, but never did."

Before the Doctor could answer, he saw Clara turning in her sleep and realised she was slowly waking up. He left the Woman's house, thinking about what the Woman said. If she didn't call him, who did?

* * *

The Doctor placed her back on the bed and waited for her to wake up. He waited and waited, and got tired of waiting. He automatically reached for the mug of cold tea left on the bedside table, and sipped it dry. When he realised that he was stupid enough to drink a whole cup of Cheem tea he had brewed to sedate Clara, it was too late. He fell asleep on the chair.

When Clara woke up, she realised the nurses had connected a port on her chest while she was asleep in the lead up to her surgery. She didn't really like the feeling of an unidentified liquid entering her stream, but had gotten used to it from all the jabs she had to endure during her tests and chemo. She sat up and saw the Doctor asleep on a chair. Even though it had only been two days, it felt like she hadn't seen him for ten years. She felt bad missing going on adventures with him as she was physically incapable to.

Clara decided not to wake the Doctor up, seeing that he was so deeply asleep. She enjoyed seeing him asleep because she had never seen him this peaceful. Even his intense eyebrows seemed to have calmed down in his sleep.

The nurses arrived with a transportable bed. "Ready to go?" Then they saw the Doctor asleep. "Oh, do you want to tell him first?"

Clara chuckled. "Nah. I'll just leave him a note. He won't mind." Clara scribbled on a bit of paper and left it on the table. "All ready. Let's do this." Clara hopped on the transportable bed, and the bed went through corridors and corridors to reach the operating theatre. Everyone and everything seemed so sterile, and she slightly felt out of place sitting there waiting for them to get ready.

"Clara, I'm just going to give you some anaesthetic. Count from one to ten for me, okay?"

Clara reached three before sleep took over.

* * *

The Doctor woke up with a jolt and a stiff neck. "Clara?" He checked the bed, but it was empty. He lifted the mug and glanced at the empty bottom of it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he muttered as he curiously picked up a neatly folded note, still holding the mug.

Gone for a surgery to remove the tumour.  
Sorry I couldn't tell you, I called, but you were away.  
I also wanted to tell you this morning, but I didn't want to wake you.  
I'll see you when it's over, yeah?

Clara

His mind ran through a million miles before it actually hit home. The mug dropped and shattered on the floor. The call was from Clara. It wasn't from the Woman. Now everything was so painfully obvious.

"Clara!" He yelled as he frantically looked through Clara's patient records hung on the foot of the bed. 'Surgery 11:25' it said. He glanced at the clock to see that it was twelve.

His hearts stopped as reached the locked doors of the operating theatre. He knew Clara was in there, and he knew how to open the doors. But what can he do? He would probably get stopped, and probably be arrested by these pudding brains. If he ever reached Clara's operating theatre, he could be risking Clara's life by bringing in germs that could infect her open wounds. He was desperate but had to logically think of a way.

"I need your phone." He plucked one out of a person in the waiting room, and soniced it. "Code name: the Doctor. I wish to speak to Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, immediately."

"Doctor! Wh-"

"Get UNIT to stop the operation in theatre 5, right now. I don't care what you do, I just need Clara out of there." He hung up.

In less than two minutes, the whole hospital was swarmed with UNIT agents, and a helicopter was ready to take the unconscious Clara to UNIT.

Despite the Doctor's wish, he wasn't allowed to take the helicopter with Clara, and even in UNIT, he was sat in a waiting room, waiting for Clara to stabilise. Kate came over and sat down next to him.

"I don't understand why you told us to do that? It seemed like a logical thing to do. She had a tumour, and she was having surgery to get it removed. I mean, Clara consented to the surgery." Kate asked, slightly baffled at why the Doctor was acting this way.

"But I didn't give them consent." He sighed and looked away. He had to tell Kate, at least… so the Clara was safe from other pudding brains' hands. Without any lies, he told Kate about everything he was hiding from Clara.

* * *

"Doctor…" Kate quietly muttered as she shook her head in disbelief. "You can't do that to Clara. Or anyone. This is inhumane."

"Kate, please. I wouldn't have done this if I wasn't desperate. Please don't tell Clara. Please." He kneeled and begged her.

"I will provide Clara with full protection and the best medical support from the UNIT team. Not because of you, but because Clara is a valued member of UNIT and it is our duty to look after our agents as best as we can. I thought you were heartless, but I didn't know you could be this heartless. I'm sorry to admit Doctor, but the legends I've heard about you… and the respect I had for you… is all gone today." Kate disappointingly stared into the Doctor's eyes.

"I'm sorry." He looked down in guilt, shame and sadness. "I had no choice."

* * *

The Woman chuckled at the sampled that laid across her. The one she was sorting through was a sample of her recent memories, something she was able to extract while pretending to scan her.

"My, my, Miss Oswald. You have an intriguing set of friends." She gazed at the clock. "So many friends and so little to live."


	11. Identity

"Why am I surrounded by soldiers? Am I in UNIT?" Clara croaked as she came back into consciousness. "I've always liked soldiers in their uniforms." Clara laughed emptily, mostly caused by her anaesthetic wearing off.

Kate glanced at the soldier blushing at the back and gave him a scolding look. She turned around and gently gazed at Clara. "You are right. You're in UNIT hospital. I'm sorry you weren't here earlier - we didn't know that you were sick until the Doctor told us." A white lie – UNIT always kept constant tabs on the Doctor's companions. But this time, it was almost impossible, seeing as the Doctor had been hiding Clara's medical records from everyone.

"Well, good on him." She laughed once more. "I like the Doctor. He's very nice. Goes Scottish at times though." Her laugh stopped. "Why am I feeling so weird?" Clara sounded like an innocent child questioning everything.

At the thought of Clara as a child, Kate chuckled. "You've just come out of an operation, so you might feel a bit giddy. Nothing a good rest can solve. Sleep, and I'll see you soon." Kate smiled, and watched until Clara obediently fell asleep.

The Doctor emerged from the corner. He handed Kate the next batch of drugs to be used with her chemotherapy. Before the Doctor could turn around and leave, Kate grabbed his arm. The Doctor hissed in pain.

"How's your arm?" Kate revealed the sleeve to see purple green bruises everywhere. "Oh dear god, it's worse than I thought. You're also cold. Not normal Time Lord cold, but freezing ice cold."

He snatched his arm away from Kate. "I'll be fine!" He regretted sounding so angry.

"Doctor, you're always welcome to stay. Stay with Clara. She asked for you multiple times. It's not right for a friend to abandon a friend going through difficult times."

He turned around and headed for the TARDIS.

"Why you keep leaving Clara? This is very unlike you. Is it because you don't want to show her your weakness?"

The Doctor didn't answer.

"Just tell me when she wakes up. I'll be in the TARDIS."

* * *

"The surgery wasn't as bad as I thought!" Clara excitedly said as she walked around in her newly fitted moonboots. "I can walk again. Thank youuu, modern medicine!"

The Doctor watched as she paced to and from the hospital garden. He smiled whenever Clara was watching, but the smile dropped when she couldn't see him.

"I'll be back Doctor. Toilet break." Clara left.

Five minutes… ten minutes… The Doctor started getting worried realising Clara hadn't returned for a long time. He went back up to her private room to find her crouched in the corner of the bathroom, crying.

"Clara!" He rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"

"I… I didn't think…" she sniffled as she showed the Doctor the clump of hair in her hands. "Don't look in the mirror, it looks hideous."

"Oh, Clara." The Doctor wiped her tears and hugged her.

Clara looked amazed at what he had just done.

"Come on. If you want, do you fancy a trip in the TARDIS?" the Doctor mischievously raised his eyebrow.

"Not like this." She buried her head in her arms again. It was tempting… but she couldn't go out with hair so thin her scalp was about to show.

"Come on, Clara!" The Doctor coaxed her. Then he handed Clara a pill. "This is a holographic pill. If you're so concerned about your looks, this will get rid of your blemishes and few patches of hair, easily. It… might grow another nose somewhere, but hey, let's take the risk,"

"Fine." Clara took the offered pill.

The Doctor helped her up and into the TARDIS. "I'm a bit peckish. Are you? Let's go have some food in a quiet restaurant."

"I want to go somewhere alien." Clara had cheered up slightly. "Sick of being on earth actually."

"Coming from the human race who haven't even mastered going into space." He scoffed and met with a light punch from Clara.

* * *

Clara didn't eat much, but the Doctor was glad that she seemed noticeably happier. They were sitting in a glass-walled restaurant where everything from their furniture to the interior was made from a glass-like material. It was situated in a never ending cliff at the end of some kind of an alien planet. Through the glass walls, they oversaw the stars in an endless vacuum, and the food, even though Clara didn't have much, was excellent.

Clara noticed just beyond a cliff, there was a tall, menacing grey fence separating them from what was beyond.

"What's over the fence?" Clara pointed.

"Not much. This planet is in a cease-fire, two sides separated by a fence. I promise you this side is much nicer."

At that moment, the earth started shaking.

"Oh, come on!" The Doctor glanced at a clock in annoyance. "Ignore what I said. Neither side is nicer. I need to get you to the TARDIS. Come on."

They ran in the plume of smoke. In the midst of a fog and mass panic, the Doctor's hand, the only thing guiding her to the TARDIS, disappeared. Clara ran as far as she could, but her body couldn't take it anymore. She felt so weak and so tired. She collapsed, and expected to be trampled by the people running for their lives.

* * *

"You're an alien."

Clara wasn't in the dark plume of smoke anymore. She was in some sort of a hospital. Her insides felt like it was burning, and she was confused to how she arrived at this place.

"I'm sorry?" Clara slowly sat up.

"I said, you're an alien." There was a young girl dressed in a universal medical uniform – the kind the Doctor showed her in one of her adventures. "Why did you come to our planet? With the war and everything… I haven't seen an alien come here in ages."

"Well, to me, you're an alien. I just came here for the food." Clara cradled her head and laid on a bed-thing again. Clara remembered her oncologist doctor explaining a thing called chemo fever, and she expected that this was it.

"I don't like our food." The girl scoffed as she watched the monitors. "You're very sick."

"Yeah. I get that a lot." Clara sighed. "I just need to go home to rest. But I need to find the Doctor."

"The Doctor? Is he the Time Lord?"

"How did you know?" Clara was startled because not a lot of people recognised the Doctor as a Time Lord.

"He was looking for you. At least... that's what my boss said. Also… he is wanted by the police." The girl turned a screen on. Sure enough, the Doctor's face was there, and there was a big 'wanted' sign labelled underneath.

* * *

The Doctor ran into the TARDIS and held the door open for Clara to come in. That's when he realised he had lost her. "No, no, no!" he kicked the console in frustration. He couldn't even protect her in one simple trip. Suddenly, he saw the green light flashing. They were landing lights, a basic summon for the Doctor. It was not far off, so he blindly followed the co-ordinates.

* * *

"Why is the Doctor wanted?" Clara carefully stood up with support from the bedframe but sat back down realising she wasn't strong enough to stand.

"Because… I don't know." The girl shrugged.

"Ah, Clara. Nice to see you up." A woman walked into her room and checked her eyes. "You must leave before you're hurt." She was a woman in her middle ages, who acted and looked like an experienced doctor. "I would hate to see you get hurt here."

"Who are you?" Clara swore she had heard her voice in a dream once.

"I'm a friend of the Doctor's. I've met you before, but you haven't met me. I told him where you were, so he'll be here soon." She smiled. The TARDIS materialised. "And here he is."

The TARDIS door opened. "You?!" The Doctor looked at the Woman in surprise. "How are you out?"

"I'm sorry Doctor, for all the troubles I caused. I had some business here, and it got a bit out of control." She helped Clara up and into the TARDIS. "You take care of yourself, Clara." She gave Clara an eerie smile.

The TARDIS was in flight, and Clara crossed her arms. "Explain. Who was this woman, and why were you wanted?" Clara's eyelids were getting heavier from the exhaustion this adventure has caused her, but she refused to fall asleep until she got a satisfactory answer from the Doctor.

"She is the Doctor." He said it after a momentary pause. He had to be careful of what to tell and not to tell Clara. "She is like me… in some way. There was a misunderstanding, and they thought that I was her." He sighed as he looked at the time rotor. He knew he owed Clara more explanations. "She used to be one of the brightest doctors of her time. No one could understand how she was finding cures for every disease. Then people found out that she was experimenting on living people to find the cures. She was seeking refuge from angry people, and I gave her one, in exchange… for your medicine. Because Clara, I can't see you die. You deserve so much better. And I-" The Doctor turned around to see her asleep. In a way, he was relieved.


	12. You've Got Some Explaining to Do

The Woman closed the door to her cottage and turned the lights on. She turned around to see the Doctor, calmly sipping a mug of tea on her sofa.

"Explain," he crossed his legs and continued. "Why were you out of your cottage?"

"A woman has rights to leave her house whenever she wants to."

The Doctor abruptly stood up, and she stepped backwards in fear.

"Except, you are wanted in just about every corner of the universe. You were using my DNA for camouflage and causing havoc through my identity. You started a war again on a planet that was about to negotiate for peace. You have just slaughtered millions of civilians under my name, just because you needed me to be separated from Clara," his voice raised in anger. "Tell me, what were you doing with my Clara?" He was glaring at her face to face.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Besides, why are you so interested in that female human anyway? She's not important and she's not even going to -" she fell from the sudden pain jolting through her legs. She realised the Doctor was holding a remote electrode activated by his sonic screwdriver. The Woman had never seen the Time Lord this angry before. She knew he was desperate, but not to this degree.

"You will help Clara. From now on, my blood will be only used to develop Clara's cure, and nothing else like we initially agreed with. If I see you disobeying this rule once more, I will walk into the Shadow Proclamation myself, and tell them the exact address of where the Woman who have slaughtered millions of innocent lives to cure a bunch of rich people live. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

The Doctor once again stormed off, leaving the Woman on the floor, devastated.

"Who was that?" The girl came out of her room.

"A very angry man," the Woman sighed. "There's nothing to worry about though."

"Did you really kill people like he said?" The girl got the courage to ask, shivering even from the question itself.

"You shouldn't have been listening," the Woman sighed as she offered her to sit. She was at least obliged to tell her who she was before she changed. "Come on. I'll tell you about my past."

* * *

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS to see Clara playing chess with Ben. Miriam and George was with them, all intently watching the battle between Clara and Ben.

"Oh, that's not a smart move, Ben. Not a smart move."

"What do you mean? It's check in three moves." The Doctor smiled looking at the board. Ben wasn't lying. Clara was always bad at chess, but she always blamed that it was because of 'his big Time Lord brains'.

Clara paused. The Doctor could see that she was obviously bluffing.

"…Yeah? Well, no because I can do this…" Clara moved the chess piece and Ben took the piece with ease. Clara rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Check." Ben laughed.

"Good game, Ben. You annihilated me." Clara shook Ben's hand, laughing with him. Clara turned to finally realise the Doctor leaning beside the TARDIS. "Doctor! How nice of you to join us. Both you and Ben are too good at chess," she puffed out her cheeks.

"Oh, I don't know, Miss. I think you're just bad at chess." Ben shrugged.

"Oi!" Clara gave an offended look, but laughed it off afterwards. The Doctor was eyeing George and Miriam. "Ah, Doctor, I know you've met Ben, but this must be your first time meeting his parents. This is Miriam and George. And this is the Doctor I was talking to you about," she introduced both sides.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Miriam shook her hands. "Anyway, I think we should head off. Thank you for today – it was very nice seeing you again, Clara. It's nice to know that everything went well, and you're happy and safe here. Doctor, we're not really sure how to leave the hospital, so could you lead us to the exit please?" Miriam's eyes told him otherwise.

"I don't-" the Doctor was almost dragged out of the room by George.

"What happened in the surgery?" Miriam looked concerned. "I thought not to mention it to Clara. Usually, you can't walk, or function properly after the surgery. But Clara… she didn't seem troubled at all. Also, suddenly she's moved to a military hospital that is restricted to the public. Clara did tell me about her relationship with UNIT, but this still doesn't make sense. I have a feeling you have something to do with this."

Everything was running through the Doctor's mind. He didn't want to tell them the truth, but he was being pressured by everyone to give them an explanation.

"Doctor, I'll handle it from here." Kate had appeared out of nowhere. "I think Clara wants you back."

The Doctor gave nod to show how grateful he was. He whispered 'Thank you' secretly into Kate's ears and walked briskly back to Clara. He needed to get down to business once he was with Clara again.

"Right, Clara, I need you to come to the TARDIS infirmary with me."

"Why?" she raised her eyebrow. "I'm in a hospital already. Why can't you just do it here?"

"Because… I have to scan you. You were almost trampled by the crowd. You even blacked out. I need to check if you're all okay."

Clara thankfully agreed, and sat on the infirmary bed waiting for the scans to finish. "By the way, Doctor, you never explained who that woman was."

The Doctor froze. He brought a chair over and sat down. He sighed. There was no getting out this time, and he couldn't bear lying to Clara anymore.

"The Woman used to be a respected scientist. She started from the bottom, and worked her way up to the top, helping people to get better. Then, someone noticed her, and suggested her to work for a network of people – more specifically, the network of the richest people in the universe. She was blinded by the money they offered, and the resources she was given to work with – a planet full of people whom the rich deemed 'unimportant'. She started finding cures for many of the ailments the rich suffered, using methods many people, including me, don't agree with."

"How many people?" Clara interrupted. "How many people died?"

"None. I saved the planet from its destruction." The Doctor replied and continued. "I… asked her to help you. Despite being momentarily blinded by her greed, she is one of the best doctors in the universe. Because Clara…" he held her hand and looked directly into her hazel eyes. "I don't know what I'll do if I lose you. I just can't…. because I-" the Doctor swallowed a lump in his throat. He had trouble finishing his sentence. He hung his head low in shame. Suddenly, he felt a gentle hug.

"Thank you for telling me the truth. I had no idea how much this was affecting you." She leaned over and gently kissed the Doctor's forehead..

"You're okay with it?" He faced her dark brown eyes in disbelief.

Clara nodded. "As long as no one is suffering from it now. If  _you_  trust someone, I trust you enough to know that they are the best for me. You are the Doctor – you would never harm innocent beings, and you're too righteous to ask an immoral person for help."

* * *

The little girl listened attentively as the Woman told her the story of her past.

"…When I was young, I made many mistakes. Because of these mistakes I was running from many bad people, and that's when the Doctor found me. He offered me a place to hide, on one condition, that I commit something bad that I had stopped a long time ago to save his best friend." The Woman explained to the girl. She clenched her fist and continued. "It was the Doctor who had ruined my life in the first place. In the coming weeks, I am going to teach you the consequences a man has to pay for his lack of responsibility."


End file.
